Nag Ashwin: ‘I know what I’m doing’
Kalki 2898 AD’s director answers a Karna-portrayal flare‑up with a Mahabharata citation and a promise: wait for Part 2.
The debate over Kalki 2898 AD’s interpretation continues ahead of Part 2.
Director Nag Ashwin has pushed back at claims that Kalki 2898 AD “glorifies” Karna, posting a passage from the Mahabharata and saying he knows exactly what he’s doing — and that the full arc lands in Part 2. The exchange began after a social post compared Kalki’s climax with a portrayal in Lenin and labelled Kalki’s ending “blasphemy” — a judgement, not a finding.
On July 12, Ashwin shared what he identified as Sree Krishna’s praise of Karna from the Drona Vadha Parva and wrote: “Please read the Mahabharata. I suggest the Bibek Debroy version… I have the greatest respect for our history. I know what I’m doing. Wait for Part 2.” Multiple outlets reproduced the post and the screenshot.
Reports also note the sequel is in development; Ashwin had earlier said “we have the story,” while making clear Part 2 is its own pre‑production push. None of this settles the text‑war — it states the director’s defence and that the interpretation fight is, well, as old as the epic. The politics brigade that treats every screenplay as a manifesto can wait for the film like everyone else.