Mahavatar Narsimha Review

To bring the various avatars of Lord Vishnu to the big screen for this generation using animation and modern technology, director Ashwin Kumar and the production house, Kleem Productions, announced the ‘Mahavatar Cinematic Universe. As part of the cinematic universe, the makers announced seven films(i.e. Mahavatar Narsimha, Mahavatar Parshuram, Mahavatar Raghunandan, Mahavatar Dwarkadhish, Mahavatar Gokulananda, Mahavatar Kalki – Part 1 & Mahavatar Kalki – Part 2). The first film from the universe, Mahavatar Narsimha, was released in theatres on 25th July 2025. Noted production house, Hombale Films, helped the movie get the required visibility and released it on a huge scale across the country. The film started on a decent note at the box office and became a rage among the audience with people thronging to the theatres to watch it. Is the film worth all the hype? Did the makers utilise modern technology properly to give an out-of-the-world experience to the audience without spoiling the essence of the epic story? Did the film succeed in making the filmmakers in India believe in the potential that animated films command at the box office? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Mahavatar Narsimha is based on one of the ten divine incarnations of Lord Vishnu. How did Lord Vishnu in the avatar of ‘Varaha Narasimha’ restore the holy faith in devotees by killing the demon king, Hiranyakashipu, who had been granted a boon(i.e. he could not be killed by human or animal, indoors or outdoors, on earth or in the sky, by day or by night, and by weapon or by hand.) by lord Brahma? Why did Hiranyakashipu want to kill his own son, Prahlad? How did Prahlad, the son of a demon king, end up becoming a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu? The film talks about the points mentioned above and conveys a message – An egoist person can never overcome the divine force that protects dharma, irrespective of how powerful the person is.

Voiceover Artists’ Performances:

Mahavatar Narsimha is an animated film with visuals generated by animation, VFX, 3D and other modern technologies. So, let’s talk about the voiceover artists’ who lent their voice to each of the characters.

Aditya Raj Sharma lent his voice for the character of Hiranyakashipu. He did a tremendous job with voice and made us feel the arrogance of Hiranyakashipu. Haripriya Matta did a tremendous job with her voice-over for the character of Prahlad. Harjeet Walia lent his voice for the character of lord Varaha Narasimha. His voice modulation in showing both ferociousness of Lord Narasimha, during the climax is first rate.

All other artists who lent their voices to various characters did a good job with their voice modulation. Kudos to the makers for taking utmost care during the dubbing of every character. The care taken during the dubbing of the film gave it the feel of watching a live-action movie with real artists & listening to their voices.

Technicalities:

Live action or animation, irrespective of the format, mythological epic films struck a chord instantly with the audience if they had good music. Sam C. S. delivered one of his career best scores to the film. His background score worked big time throughout the film, especially the last forty-five minutes of the film. Also, the songs he scored worked out, especially the song on Lord Vishnu during the Pre-Climax of the film.

Editing by the director, Ashwin Kumar and Ajay Varma is good but would have been a bit better at times, especially before the pre-interval and pre-climax sequences. Let’s discuss the animation artists’ work, the producers’ & the director’s work in detail in the analysis section.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠The Idea To Bring The Mythological Epic On-Screen Using Animation
2.⁠ ⁠Visuals
3.⁠ ⁠Music
4.⁠ ⁠Direction
5.⁠ ⁠Voiceover Artists’ Dialogue Modulation
6.⁠ ⁠Four To Five Terrific Sequences
7.⁠ ⁠Pre-Climax & Climax

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Editing At A Couple of Places

Analysis:

In an attempt to retell the epic, Ramayana, to the Gen Z audience, by using modern technology and visuals, the director, Om Raut and his team, made ‘Adipurush’ in 2023 with a budget of around five hundred crores and got severely trolled from all sections of the audience. It will remain as a lesson for the filmmakers in the country on how not to make a mythological epic film. When Kleem Productions and Hombale Films announced ‘Mahavatar Cinematic Universe’ in June 2025 and announced the release date of ‘Mahavatar Narsimha’, there were no expectations as such from the audience. But, the makers of the film surprised everyone with a superb film with fantastic visuals, great detailing, and excellent music. It is surprising to know that the makers of ‘Mahavatar Narsimha’ made such a huge canvas film with just around twenty crores budget.

The first thing which we observe in the film is the clarity of the thoughts of the makers. They used modern technology perfectly & without spoiling the essence of the epic story. The visual design of every character looked so good on screen. Kudos to the imagination of the visual artists and the director for coming up with stunning visual designs without going overboard. The film almost gives the feeling of watching a live-action film. It is very difficult for a director to retell a very popular story and that too without real actors but the director, Ashwin Kumar, made it look so easy. There are at least four to five sequences in the film that came out very well and gave an extraordinary viewing experience to the audience. Especially, the last forty-five minutes of the film are is experience not to be missed on the big screen. Kudos to the director for extracting a first-rate output from all the technicians with a very limited budget. The dialogues written are one of the biggest assets of the films and the way they were delivered by the voice artists is very commendable.

On the flip side, the pace of the film drops a bit before the pre-interval and pre-climax episodes. A bit better and faster-paced editing during above mentioned episodes would have made the film even better. Yes, the makers were very much true to the story and it is not write to tone down the violence or bloodshed shed but the film would have become completely child-friendly had the makers found a way to tone down the blood and gore during the climax. The very idea of bringing the epic in animation to reach out to this generation of kids has not been achieved completely because of the censor boards’ decision in a few countries to go with a fifteen-plus rating due to the blood and gore in the climax. We can see the makers have taken utmost care in designing the visuals throughout the film but in only one sequence they went a bit overboard. The usage of ‘Star Wars’ like weapons & vehicles in the said sequence looked a bit out of place.

Overall, Mahavatar Narsimha is a very well-made film which is worth all the hype. The visuals and the making along with an excellent second half will stun you. It is certainly a very good watch in theatres. Go to your nearest theatres along with your family to witness one of the greatest Indian mythological stories. The film has already made a lot of money at the box office and in all probability is going to get a very long run in theatres.

Bottomline: Watch It

Rating – 3/5