Kalki 2898 AD inspired Sudeep's Billa Ranga Baasha? Director breaks silence

Director Anup Bhandari has responded to speculation that his upcoming film, Billa Ranga Baasha, starring Kannada superstar Sudeep, was influenced by the success of the Telugu blockbuster Kalki 2898 AD. The comparisons emerged after Sudeep unveiled a concept video for Billa Ranga Baasha on his birthday, revealing that the film is set in the year 2209 AD, sparking discussions about similarities with Kalki's futuristic theme.

Addressing the speculation, Anup Bhandari firmly denied that Billa Ranga Baasha was inspired by Kalki 2898 AD, clarifying that his project has been in development for over two decades. "This idea originated in my head in 2003," Anup told TV9. "We've been working on this story long before Kalki was even announced, and we first revealed it in 2018. It's not like we're doing this after watching Kalki."

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He further emphasized the originality of the concept by pointing to the project's early announcement. "We announced this project way before Kalki was even on the horizon. I'm happy we did that; otherwise, many would have thought we were basing our film on theirs," the director explained.

Anup also acknowledged that while both films share a futuristic setting, there are significant differences between them. "We’ve seen Kalki 2898 AD, and we’ve also released our concept video. You can see there are a lot of differences between these two movies," he observed.

The director also shed light on the technical challenges involved in creating Billa Ranga Baasha, explaining that the project had initially been delayed due to limitations in filmmaking technology. However, the evolution of visual effects in India, particularly following their work on Vikrant Rona, has given the team confidence to finally bring this long-standing vision to life. "The VFX has evolved a lot in India. We used that to some extent in Vikrant Rona, which gave us the confidence that we could achieve our vision for Billa Ranga Baasha," Anup noted.

With Kalki 2898 AD featuring an ensemble cast of Prabhas, Kamal Haasan, and Amitabh Bachchan and grossing over Rs 1000 crore, the futuristic genre has captured the audience’s imagination. Despite the comparisons, Anup Bandari remains focused on making Billa Ranga Baasha a visual spectacle in its own right. "This movie is set in the future, and why it happens particularly in that year has a reason. It's very challenging to make such a movie, as everything from costumes to vehicles needs to be created from scratch," he explained.

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