[tps_footer]The story of Mahabharata is well known and has been oft told. The difference with the current film is that it features top Bollywood star voices, in particular Amitabh Bachchan (Bheeshma), Ajay Devgn (Arjun), Vidya Balan (Draupadi), Shatrughan Sinha (Krishna), Manoj Bajpayee (Yudhishtir), Anil Kapoor (Karna) and Anupam Kher (Shakuni Mama).

It’s quite an achievement to enlist such a host of actors to lend their talent to an animated film.

This is the biggest achievement of director Amaan Khan’s Mahabharata, which is clearly aimed at a young audience that might appreciate an introduction to the epic.

This biggest letdown, however, is the animation itself. Considering the strides Hollywood and even Indian animation films have made (such as Delhi Safari), the art, rendering and technical finesse of Mahabharata falls way short.

While the faces of the characters are designed to match those of their star voices, the movements are staccato and facial expressions limited. The effects in the final battle of Kurukshetra – as arrows fly through the sky – are reminiscent of the popular TV show about the battle between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. That was fine in the 80s but surely our technicians can do better in the 2010s.

This all-too simplistic retelling of a legendary tale is saved from collapsing only thanks to the voicing talents mentioned above.

Rating: **1/2

MAHABHARATA TRAILER:

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