Kaliyugam Movie Review : An ambitious dystopian thriller that's too disoriented to entertain

Kaliyugam Movie Synopsis: It's 2064, and people are struggling to meet their ends as even basic needs like food and water aren't available. Will there be a recovery from this crisis?

Kaliyugam Movie Review: Pramodh Sundar’s ambitious dystopian thriller, Kaliyugam, is a film that aims for the sky but abruptly crashes along the way. The film is set in 2064, where people are struggling to stay alive as the power rests in the hands of a group who call themselves Residents. As Residents kill anyone who isn't with them, another group named Liberators is formed to overthrow Residents and build an egalitarian world.

Rather than building upon its intriguing basic premise, Kaliyugam loses its focus pretty early on. The scenes prior to Sketch’s (Kishore) entry do contribute to the film's worldbuilding, but they end up being too drawn-out. Even when Kishore and Iniyin Subramani try to give their all, the film is too disoriented to keep us invested. The revelations made later on in the film do help in providing more context to moments that occur in the first half, but it isn't enough to revitalise the film.

Kaliyugam 2064 really picks up after the character of Pari (Shraddha Srinath) is introduced. The aptly written character and Shraddha’s performance as Pari do manage to add new life into the film. But, even with solid performances and an admirable setup, the film never reaches its full potential. It's one of those films that bites off more than it can chew. Kaliyugam 2064 falls under a trap of being a film driven largely by its vision, as the makers falter in pulling off that vision with finesse.