Quite far from an epic
Mahabharat 3D
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U; Animation
Director: Amaan Khan
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Ajay Devgn, Vidya Balan, Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Manoj Bajpai, Deepti Naval
Rating:u00a0
Mahabharata is touted as the costliest animation film to come out from India. But looks like our costliest is still not good enough -- considering that we have a long way to go before even reach the standards of the animations that come out from the West.
Mahabharata is yet again a disappointment in the series of animation films that have been produced in India. We still seem to be struggling to get that right and Mahabharata just reiterates the same. Most characters of this immensely interesting epic tale end up looking drab and dull, thanks to the expressionless dummy like animated characters.
The director should be lauded for trying to make an attempt at making the characters look like the stars whose voices are behind them. But any great idea, if not backed by perfect execution, falls flat. This one does too.
Here, poor Draupadi's character looks like a cross breed between the gorgeous Vidya Balan and a colourless dead woman. Lord Krishna, the most charming character of the epic, ended up looking like a podgy listless character.
But all is not lost with this one, though. The star ensemble gives an impressive performance through their voices and there is a sense of delight one feels when Sunny Deol as Bheema falls for Hidimba or Ajay Devgn as Arjun wins the hand of the feisty Vidya Balan as Draupadi. Amitabh Bachchan as Bhishma and Anupam Kher as Shakuni, Jackie Shroff as Duryodhan, Shatrughan Sinha as Krishna, Anil Kapoor as Karna and Madhuri Dixit as Durga Maa put a lot of heart into their characters, making them almost come alive. If aided by better quality of animation, this could have been a far superior product.
It is a pity that the animation industry in the country is still struggling to find a foothold either in terms of economics or quality, while our kids continue to watch foreign channels for their dose of cartoons and animated series.
Yet, Mahabharata should be given the credit for being a film with sincere attempt and ambition. However, its lack of vision, especially in terms of technology, works completely against it.