The drop of movie “Ashwatthama- the Saga continues” due to Prabhas’ “Kalki 2898 AD” release in 2024

Hello, how are you all, hope you are well. In today's blog we will know about The drop of movie “Ashwatthama- the Saga continues” due to Prabhas’ “Kalki 2898 AD” release in 2024, August 18, 2026

Recently the producer Jackky Bhagnani came out clear regarding the shelving of his work “Ashwatthama” with actor Shahid Kapoor due to the similarities in the movie concepts with actor Prabhas’ Kalki 2898 AD.

It is reported that Producer Jaccky Bhagnani and actor Shahid Kapoor have been friends for over 2 decades and had finally decided to come together in 2024 to work on a movie based on Classical Indian Epic Mahabharat’s character Ashwatthama in a movie said to be named “Ashwatthama – The Saga continues” with the motive of releasing a blockbuster film that would show their mastery on their talents; but the film was shortly shelved due to the arrival of the movie “Kalki 2898 AD” into the Indian Cinemas where Amitabh Bachchan starred as Ashwatthama and the movie became a massive hit.

This movie’s story too revolved around the Kalki Maha avatar and had characters similar to Hindu epic Mahabharata including Ashwatthama. Jaccky states that the movie was envisioned to cross the milestone of 500 crores. The producer says that the audience does not recognize the efforts and capital invested by the producers but sees the similarity between movies and especially the later one and hence condemns the actors as well as movie, calling them names.

But the producer Jaccky Bhagnani still stands on his ambition and states that the entertainment company “Pooja Entertainment” still backs up Shahid Kapoor and is still looking to actively collaborate with him. The producer also states that later this year, a work showcasing the actor will be released for the public with a unique concept claiming it in the interest of the public. The producer is also being rumored to have extended the date of release of another movie named “Suryaputra Mahavir Karna”.

Experts suggest that the focus of the producer and the production company might be on the remake of Indian classical literature texts as there has been a shift in the taste of the Indian audience and the vast amount of classical and ethnic material that is being found in the Indian literature texts. It can clearly be seen the shift of the Bollywood movies from modern, pop artistic movies to traditional epics stating the acceptance to their roots and boosting their rich literature and culture; however it is important to ensure that the valid stories are used without any manipulation as it can also cause harm to India’s image.

✍️Tamanna Negi

Scholar from University of Delhi, INDIA