Nag Ashwin, known for Kalki 2898 AD and Mahanati, recently spoke about the pressures of originality and idea overlap during a student interaction at BVRIT College in Hyderabad. Sharing a personal anecdote, Ashwin revealed that in 2008, he had written a story exploring the concept of thoughts and memories, only to later find similarities with Christopher Nolan’s Inception, released in 2010.

“I had written something like Inception, but about thoughts instead of dreams. Once I saw the trailer, I dropped the idea. It affected me deeply, and I went into a week of depression,” he said. Reflecting on the experience, Ashwin added, “Originality is something you can’t control. It’s more important to be authentic than original.”

He also shared that he admired Trivikram’s Khaleja and would have loved to be its editor. “Editing Khaleja would’ve been exciting. Maybe Dear Comrade too,” he noted.

Ashwin also spoke about the extensive effort behind the world-building in Kalki 2898 AD, stating that each scene was a product of months of planning. He acknowledged the rise of AI tools but emphasised that direction and storytelling still rely on the human mind. The director is currently preparing for the sequel to Kalki 2898 AD, set to begin filming later this year.