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Touted to the most expensive Bollywood animation film,Mahabharat 3D is a retelling of epic mythological saga with an added dimension.
Critic Consensus
Critical reception for Mahabharat 3D is largely negative, with most reviewers finding the animation substandard and far behind international benchmarks. The most consistent praise across reviews is directed at the voice dubbing by Bollywood actors, with several critics singling out performances by Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan as genuine highlights. Common criticisms include amateurish and visually unappealing animation, an oversimplified retelling of the epic that fails to engage either children or adults, and a particularly weak depiction of the Kurukshetra war sequences. A few critics acknowledge the sincerity of the attempt but conclude that good intentions do not compensate for the technical and narrative shortcomings.
15 reviews · 2 positive · 7 mixed · 4 negative
AI-generated summary of 15 critic reviews · may contain errors
Report inaccuracyCritic Reviews (15)
"On the flip side, the animation effort itself is immature and several notches below those of Hollywood films. Yet the dub effort by the Bollywood superstars uplifts this epic, making it enjoyable."Read full review ↗
"...with the only competitor being DHOOM-3, MAHABHARAT seems to be a good bet keeping in mind that it's being released during the festive time of the year, coinciding with the vacations."Read full review ↗
"The dogged attempt by Indian filmmakers and studios to bravely continue and dabble with animation has to be saluted. At a time when their core audience - kids - is used to watching multiple 24/7 international animation channels and picture perfect Pixar movies, every few months there will be at least one ambitious Indian effort. The makers know there's no competition at a technical level. They must then, make the most with their story. And writer/director Amaan Khan turns to the oldest book in this trick: Mahabharat."Read full review ↗
"...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."Read full review ↗
"The animation effort is at best amateur and at place drawing too much attention to it because of it being gaudy. The final battle scenes should have been a display of spectacular technical wizardry but it's not. Sadly, you are reminded of the two arrows colliding in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan and Ramayan was made before BR Chopra's televised Mahabharat. It almost looks like they just needed to get over with it once the Kurukshetra war starts. Honestly, by this time, even you are hoping it gets over fast and soon."Read full review ↗
"If only the makers had to pay that much extra attention to the animation and execution like they did with the characters and their faces, this epic would have been quite different and would have gone down well with the kids."Read full review ↗
"...not expected to be a work of genius. I wasn't hoping for another Avatar but I was definitely looking for more meat than what was served to me. Except phenomenal voice casting, the film has very little to gloat about. Don't waste your time at the theaters on this one and wait for the TV telecast. Indian animation can easily show more wild originality than what we got here. Buck up for the next time."Read full review ↗
"There is a laboured attempt here to prove that animation has come to animated life in Indian cinema. Sadly, it ends up proving only the opposite. We've a long way to go. If you want to see a credible dramatically deft adaptation of the Mahabharat, check out B R Chopra's televised version. As for animation, Indian cinema should leave it alone."Read full review ↗
"If only this was a made-for-radio special instead of a half-heartedly animated demo reel masquerading as a children's fantasy. But dumbing down Mahabharat's provocative and serious framework for a film that cannot even provide visual enchantment fails to fulfill it purpose even to its young audience."Read full review ↗
"Good animation needn't necessarily be about the computer-graphics imagery. Films such as Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir were deeply moving without being cutting-edge. Mahabharat, sadly, lacks more than technical prowess; it lacks imagination. It is an over-simplified, children's-book version of the epic tale."Read full review ↗
"The only saving grace is the sincerity with which the cast has dubbed for their parts. Bachchan sounds like Bheeshma while Vidya does a commedable Draupadi. Despite the big names associated with Mahabharat 3D the film turns out to be a no show in its effort to entertain the audience."Read full review ↗
"Jayantilal Gada's Mahabharat in short is a shoddy and insipid representation of a mighty mythology which really has no potential to entice the kids."Read full review ↗
"One wishes our filmmakers quit mythological stories and gave our little viewers more age-appropriate stories that are full of magic and fun. That, or at least interpret the heavy-duty mythology to suit the sensibilities of children. Otherwise all they see is war, revenge and killing without understanding the real learning behind these epic stories!"Read full review ↗
"This new Mahabharata isn't so much a kid-friendly version as one made for dummies, by dummies. It's awkward, sanitised and dissatisfying to those who know the epic and to those who don't, it's boring and ugly. Do your kids a favour. Tell them stories from the original epic and steer clear of this film."Read full review ↗
"The animation might be a let down, but the film captures the essence of the mythological saga."Read full review ↗
Cast & Crew
Cast
- Sunny Deol · Bheem (Voice Over)
- Ajay Devgn · Arjun (Voice Over)
- Vidya Balan · Draupadi (Voice Over)
- Amitabh Bachchan · Bheeshma (Voice Over)
- Anil Kapoor · Karan (Voice Over)
- Jackie Shroff · Duryodhan (Voice Over)
- Anupam Kher · Shakuni (Voice Over)
- Deepti Naval · Kunti (Voice Over)
- Manoj Bajpai · Yudishtir (Voice Over)
Details
- Release Date
- 27 December 2013
- Runtime
- 119 min
- Language
- Hindi
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