While Mahindra helped with powertrain configuration, architecture and performance, Jayem Automotive put together Bujji robot car for Kalki 2898 AD
The upcoming mythology-inspired sci-fi dystopian movie, Kalki 2898 AD, is a trending topic. A-listers Prabhas’ and Amitabh Bachan’s new looks are buzz generators. But for the automotive fraternity, the recent unveiling of the Bujji robot car voiced by Keerthy Suresh, enticed more. Did I forget to tell you that it was a real prop which was developed with help from Mahindra? Let’s take a closer look.
Mahindra Helps Develop Bujji Robot Car
When movie makers go out of their limbs to create unique props, I get really excited. Partly because I’m an automobile engineer who appreciates engineering, but partly because I don’t like 100% CGI when there can be a few real props. Makers of Kalki 2898 AD, Nag Ashwin and team, seem to have taken a few pages from Christopher Nolan’s book.
The Dark Knight trilogy was Christopher Nolan’s brainchild and featured a more realistic Batman concept. So, Batman’s Tumbler, Bat-Pod and even Batman’s monocopter, conveniently called “The Bat”, were real props. Without an anti-torque, it can never fly. Hence the team used cranes for flying scenes. It was a real prop, though.
On 4th of March 2022, an interesting exchange of tweets took place between Mahindra Group Chairman, Anand Mahindra, and visionary film director, Nag Ashwin. For his upcoming sci-fi dystopian movie, Kalki 2898 AD (codenamed ProjectK in 2022), Nag Ashwin reached out to Anand Mahindra to help develop their futuristic vehicle prop.
Anand Mahindra responded and directed them to R Velusamy, Chief of Global Product Development at Mahindra on Twitter. A few days back, Anand Mahindra tweeted, congratulating Nag Ashwin and team. He divulged that a team from Mahindra Research Valley, Chennai helped Kalki team with powertrain configuration, architecture and performance, which was then put together by Jayem Automotives.
What is Bujji Robot Car?
In the upcoming movie Kalki 2898 AD by Nag Ashwin, Bujji is a robotic car with a unique AI figurine bot. Voiced by famous actress Keerthy Suresh, Bujji is not just a car. It is a character on its own with human-like behavioural patterns. Making Bujji is an essential part of Kalki 2898 AD, complementing the lead role, Bhairawa, played by Prabhas.
Recently, the filmmakers unveiled Bujji robot car in Hyderabad, accompanied by Prabhas, making a grand entry in Bujji robot car. For starters, Bujji is a real prop for Kalki 2898 AD movie. It has two hubless wheels at the front and a spherical wheel at the back. It is a 6,047 mm long, 3,380 mm wide and 2,186 mm tall vehicle that weighs a hefty 6 tonnes.
Two electric motors from Mahindra power Bujji’s rear spherical wheel. Total system output is around 126 bhp and a staggering 9800 Nm torque. A 47 kWh battery pack keeps this ginormous car running. There are 34.5-inch hubless rims wrapped with custom CEAT tyres, canopy-style doors, rear spherical-style tyre and a lot of crazy attributes to match its crazy design.
Apart from Prabhas, Amitabh Bachan and Keerthy Suresh (voicing Bujji), other notable actors from the movie are Kamal Hassan, Deepika Padukone and Disha Patani. The movie is likely to be a blockbuster and promises an action-packed journey giving a glimpse of what Nag Ashwin thinks the future could be like in 800 years.
