Join WhatsApp Channel
This devotional is a winner all the way. The story of how Lord Jagannath (of Puri) demolished the ego of Aham, an erstwhile ideal student of a sage, with the help of little Balram, his staunch devotee, makes for gripping and enjoyable viewing.
Aham has been full of ‘I, Me, Myself’ after achieving rare knowledge. He looks down upon common people. But when he talks down on the devotees of Lord Vishnu’s incarnation, Lord Jagannath, in his temple in Odisha, he is refused ‘darshan’ by the deity. In sheer rage, he swears revenge. Having built a planet all his own helped by a boon from Lord Brahma, he kidnaps a huge chunk of the lord’s devotees from across the country and forces them to become his devotees, hypnotizing them into forgetting their family bonds and devotion to God in a world made of mercury.
Young Balram, devoted to Mahaprabhu Jagannath thanks to his parents’ inculcation of values and a small idol of the latter gifted by them, helps the Lord defeat Aham’s nefarious aims: Aham has now become a demon. For most of the journey that spans Paatal Lok, Naag Lok and Swarg Lok, they have to trace Aham’s planet and free the captive human beings that now also include Balram’s parents. And how Lord Vishnu punishes Aham is something to be watched, for Aham has also received the boon of immortality.
The high-grade, very bright comic book animation is wonderful and the script and the film’s pace (Pallavi Sharma has written the screenplay and dialogues), almost like a gripping thriller, also help. The right quantum and quality of marketing is missing, otherwise in this season of devotionals, this film could have neared or matched the massive scale of success attained by Mahavatar Narsimha last year.
The light moments like the banana sequence and the pink elephant episodes are masterfully handled and director Shripad Warkhedkar treats the story with care and dexterity, with values highlighted all through.
Animation directors Vinay Shinde, Prasanna Kumar Rout and Laxmidhar Jena, character designers Biswar Tudu, Rajib Lochan Sethy and Chandrashekhar Sahoo and Voice Directors Rajeev Rai and Jagroshan Homnath Pandey are all driven by excellence in their work. So are Prachi Save Saathi as the voice of Lord Jagannath and the doll Jagan, Sonal Kaushal as Balram and Adityaraj Sharma, who brings in the intensity of the egoistical Aham.
The sole song, Jai Jai Jagannath, is hauntingly composed by Arjit Shrivastava, with evocative lyrics by Atul Kumar Verma. Atharv Bakshi is excellent here in his passionate vocal delivery. Aviral Kumar’s background score is also of high standard.
Rating: ****
Ele Animations’ Mahaprabhu Jagannath Produced by: Durga Prasad Dalai Directed by: Shripad Warkhedkar Written by: Pallavi Sharma Music: Arjit Shrivastava Voice-Overs: Prachi Save Saathi, Sonal Kaushal, Adityaraj Sharma & others
