The film begins by
claiming that it has been designed to acquaint the younger generation
about the stories from the great Indian epic Mahabharata and about the values
contained therein. It begins with two little boys, brothers, fighting over
a coin. Then, a messenger bird appears and narrates the tale of what a
quarrel between brothers over greed, ego and power struggle could lead to.
Since the
massive story of a hundred thousand stanzas needs to be consolidated
into two hours of film, the script only touches upon the important
highlights. The birth of Karna and the other Pandavas and that of the
Kauravas is told as a passing reference. And there is no reference to
Bhishma or Pandu & Dhritarashtra lineages.
The main story
begins at the point where Pandavas and Kauravas showcase their skills at
an arena in the capital Hastinapur. Patriarch Bhishma (Amitabh Bachchan)
oversees the duels: Bheem (Sunny Deol) vs Duryodhan (Jackie Shroff) and
Arjuna (Ajay Devgan) vs Karna (Anil Kapoor). In the end, Yudhishtir (Manoj
Bajpayee) is anointed as the crown prince, thus angering Duryodhan and
Shakuni Mama (Anupam Kher).
The tale then
continues to portray the Pandavas' wedding with Draupadi (Vidya Balan)
and explains the logic behind five husbands and then introduces the
character of Lord Krishna (Shatrughan Sinha). Following Draupadi's insult
of Duryodhan and the counter-insult after the game of dice, the
Pandavas go to the jungles. On their return, evil Duryodhan doesn't return
their kingdom and war between cousins is imminent.
'Mahabharat' 3D or
2D depending on the format that watches it in, focuses on the events of the
famed battle, the message of Krishna to Arjuna and the aftermath of the
war. While the animation is extremely loathsome, one can't help but
appreciate the attempt to capture the essence of the values contained in
the epic in about 2 hours.
The acting talent
is only reflected through the voices of its actors. While Big B's baritone
voice is the most resoundingly awesome one, the faces of the characters
bear mild resemblance to the actors, leave aside the muscular bodies. In a
way, it was fun to see big names lend their voices to evergreen characters in
the Indian psyche. If only the visual feel lived up to the mark of
the actors voices! If at all!
Nonetheless, since
it is an animation film, much of its merits would be analyzed against what
is seen on screen. While they have attempted the use of rich colors, the
use of movements and shadows is too tacky. If you remember playing decade
old versions of action games like Counterstrike, you would know what I'm
talking about. The visuals have an overall substandard feel and seems
like a cheap TV show.
With animation, comparisons
are inevitable too. While it would be unfair to compare it with Hollywood,
does it stand up to homegrown cartoons? It doesn't. In fact, they could
have done better by sticking to simpler styles, much like the old-world
comics and give life to a simplistic style of animation. They couldn't
have emulated the 2011 Tintin film, but could've at least emulated Chota
Bheem.
Background score
and songs are not only bad;
but they are also poorly timed. It is understandable that the screenwriters
have used songs to convey the passage of time based events; however, this
was not effective. The editing too is so hopelessly lost that one background
tune suddenly cuts into another.
Verdict: Earlier this month, a news report said
that the film has been insured for INR 50 crore. Going by the lack of
interest by audiences and empty movie halls, surely, the insurance
companies have something to worry about. Doesn't that say enough already?
If you are still keen on it, save your money, wait till it comes on TV.
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