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Ashwin Kumar’s animated mythological film Mahavatar Narsimha has turned out to be an unexpected success story. The film has now earned more than Rs 145 crore at the domestic box office within 17 days.
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Produced by Hombale Films and Kleem Productions, Mahavatar Narsimha is the first project from the Mahavatar series, which “will bring to life the stories of Lord Vishnu’s many avatars.”
In an interview with NDTV, Ashwin Kumar claimed that Mahavatar Narsimha isn’t catering to only Hindus, but also people of other faiths. “I’ve had people from different communities, including many Muslim viewers, come up to me and say that the film strengthened their own faith. I’m not saying go convert your religion. What I’m saying is, you understand what faith is. Whether you pray to a God, believe in energy, or place your trust in the universe, this film simply asks you to surrender to that faith,” he said.
Mahavatar Narsimha revolves around the evil king Hirankashyap, who’s been blessed with a special layered immunity from Lord Brahma. After he mistreats his son Prahlada, a devotee of Lord Vishnu, the deity takes the incarnation of Lord Narsimha to save the child. However, Kumar insists Mahavatar Narsimha isn’t “religious.”
“This is not a religious film. It’s an interreligious faith film. Because love, it is a universal emotion. So is faith. Hence the film is growing in leaps and bounds,” said the director.
Mahavatar Narsimha will be followed by six other animated films in the Mahavatar series which will revolve around the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu. This Mahavatar Cinematic Universe is being backed by Hombale Films, best known for delivering pan-India Kannada blockbusters like Kantara and the KGF franchise. The next installment of the Mahavatar Cinematic Universe will focus on Lord Vishnu’s sixth incarnation, Lord Parshurama.
Also Read — Mahavatar Narsimha director Ashwin Kumar on Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana: ‘We have a habit of projecting God onto actor…’
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In an exclusive interview with SCREEN, Ashwin Kumar had claimed that he considers Mahavatar Narsimha history, instead of mythology. “‘Mythology’ is a Greek term which comes from ‘mythos,’ which means mithya in Sanskrit. Mithya means concocted. I do not feel, in any which way, that we have a concocted past. We have a very strong past. We should celebrate that past, the puranic tales of Bharat,” he said.
“Our puranic tales are very long, deep, and rooted in history. It’s about time we access those, feel proud, and build universes for future generations. It’s very apparent that it wasn’t done that well in the past, but it’s about time that we do it now in the way it should be done,” the director added.
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