Kalki 2898 AD cinematographer hails Deepika Padukone's performance: ‘Now I understand why they call her Queen’

Deepika Padukone played Sumathi in Nag Ashwin's Kalki 2898 AD. The film also stars Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and Shobana.

Deepika Padukone is receiving acclaim for her performance in Kalki 2898 AD. The interval block in the film, where her character walks on fire, has been picked by many fans as one of the most powerful moments of the film. Now, the cinematographer of the film has heaped praises on the actor, calling her supporting and encouraging. (Also read: Kalki 2898 AD: Nag Ashwin calls Deepika Padukone's fire scene his most favourite: 'It was a leap of faith')

Deepika Padukone plays a pregnant woman in Kalki 2898 AD.

'She genuinely appreciated the shots'

A new BTS video from the shoot of the film was shared by the makers, Vyjayanthi Movies on their official X (previously Twitter) account. It had the cinematographer of the film, Djordje Stojiljkovic, talking about his experience shooting the film with the actors.

Talking about Deepika, he said: "Now I understand why they call her Queen. She genuinely appreciated the shots I provided. Especially, the profile shots. We even joked about making an entire movie in profile someday. Her support and encouragement were priceless and it really was motivating me to achieve better results every time.”

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He also praised Amitabh Bachchan's dedication towards the craft, and how Prabhas brought a ‘wonderful energy’ on set where he would crack jokes and keep the scenes going. He also said how he loved working with Prabhas and Disha Patani in scenes which were difficult to shoot but they kept the energy going.

Kalki 2898 AD mixes sci-fi with Indian mythology and tells the story of a bounty hunter called Bhairava (Prabhas) who crosses paths with Ashwatthama (Amitabh) and a pregnant lab subject called SU-M80 (Deepika). The film ends on a note that sets things up for the sequel.

Nag Ashwin’s film made ₹95.3 crore on its opening day, and has made ₹1000 crore at the box office worldwide in 15 days of release. It released in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi in 2D and 3D.