Nag Ashwin’s 3D spectacle ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ registered a record opening at the global box office, earning Rs 191.5 crore gross on day one of its release, the makers said yesterday.

Touted as a marriage of Hindu epic Mahabharata and science fiction, the big-budget film is produced by Vyjayanthi Movies and was released on Thursday in six languages: Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and English.

 It features a star cast led by Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan, along with Disha Patani, Saswata Chatterjee and Shobhana.

Vyjayanthi Movies shared the opening day figure of the movie on its official X page through a poster which stated that ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ earned Rs 191.5 crore in gross box office collection (GBOC), a PTI report from New Delhi stated.

The film’s day one earnings is the third highest opening day collection for any Indian film. It is behind SS Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’ (Rs 223 crore) and ‘Baahubali 2’ (Rs 217 crore), which also featured Prabhas in the lead role.

Previously titled ‘Project K’, it is arguably the most expensive feature film in Indian cinema history at a reported Rs 600 crore.

Large crowds were seen outside theatres in several cities, including Hyderabad and Mumbai. And the initial reviews were also favourable.

Meanwhile, another PTI report from Chennai stated that actor Kamal Haasan went ga-gag over the film, though he has a small role only in it.

“When it comes to stories like ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ I think only countries like Greece and China can come anywhere close to India. The other cultures do not have access to such rich stories,” said actor-director-producer Kamal Haasan on Friday.

The actor was interacting with reporters after watching the film in Chennai.

According to Haasan: “We have been seeing many signifiers that Indian cinema is moving towards global entertainment, and ‘Kalki…’ is one among them. Nag Ashwin carefully handled the subject of mythology without any religious bias. Across the world, only Japan, China, and Greek civilizations can come close to the Indian heritage of storytelling. Ashwin has chosen stories from that and has executed it with a lot of patience by bringing everyone together.”

His praise for Bachchan too was fulsome. “I don’t know if I should call him a veteran or a fresh actor. He has done the film that well,” Haasan exulted.

“It looks like the film has been made for children. Now, don’t ask how a man with white hair can enjoy such films. This film reminds you of the child that’s within every adult. This is a great attempt and I am happy to be part of it. I am happy that this journey is going to continue.” he added.