After the enjoyable Ghattotkoch, Dashavatar comes as one more animated flick this summer. Finally, Indian filmmakers are ready to experiment with animation and even if these flicks are based on mythology, they are presented in a pleasant and easy-going way, which will please the kids. Explaining how Krishna holds the mountain with a single finger might be difficult but with these animated films with lots of vibrant colors it becomes easy and welcoming as well.
Rating: 2.25/5
Look at the way Hindi film industry evolved. We started with stories that were much popular and which reached the audience faster and was welcomed well. These stories were basically picked from mythology. Even if a typical Ramleela was shown in a bigger screen, it was taken well by the audience.
Similarly, now that animated films are there in the block, the filmmakers are trying to focus on the stories which are already narrated or told. The new approach towards animation is again dedicated to the deities and their various interesting stories.
Director Bhavik Thakore somehow manages to get a pat on his back for trying an animation film which is still new to Bollywood. Picking such a topic of so many aspects and as many as ten different stories blended together might not have been digested at first, but Bhavik has done a well-approving job out of it. There were some pieces which are well known like Ram and Krishna but some avatars like Matsya or Kurma are hardly known by kids, at whom the film aims at.
To present such a huge topic and blending with flawlessness was indeed a challenge. The director has been ably supported by his screenplay writer Hriday Lani who takes up the difficult subject and narrates it with a childlike flow.
The animation is also of international standards but the combination of 3D and 2D at times fall flat which is again passable. Now, the animation doesn’t have only fairytales but the fight between truth and evil is told in a superior manner. It will be wrong to say that the film is only for kids because some of the stories are not known to many of us elders.
Dahsavatar talks about the ten different incarnations or avatars of Lord Vishnu. These episodes have been taken from mythological epics like Krishna Leela, Ramayan and Mahabharat.
In a contemporary setting, the film starts with two kidnapped kids running away from the goons take shelter in a Krishna temple. Here they are saved by Narad Muni, known as the greatest disciple of Lord Krishna, who comes in the disguise of a Pujari and kicks out the goons and takes the kids to heaven.
Here Narad Muni with a voiceover by Shreyas Talpade, narrating the heroic actions of Lord Vishnu which includes the avatars like Matsya (Fish), Kurma (Tortoise), Varah (Wild Boar), Narsingh (Lion), Vaman (Brahmin), Parshuram, Lord Ram, Lord Krishna, Gautam Buddha and Kalki (not yet realized and expected to have a manifestation in 21st century).
These incarnations can also be described in terms of science as like the evolution of life on earth. The Matsya roop or fish is born in water which then leads to Kurma roop or tortoise, which can leave both in water and land.
Then comes the Varaha roop or boar which lives on land which then leads to the Narasimha roop or a man-lion who develops into Vamana or dwarf and finally to the various human forms like Ram, Balram, Krishna, Gatuam Budha and and expected incarnation in Kaliyug named Kalki Avatar.
The voiceovers by Sachin Khedekar as Lord Vishnu, Shreyas Talpade as Narad Muni, Roopali Ganguly as Apsara, Tom Alter as Parshuram, Vinay Apte as Kansa add beauty to the animated sequences. On a scale, Sachin Khedekar does a very good job followed by Shreyas Talpade.
The music composition by Anand Kurhekar is full of light and enjoyable beats. O Mohini O Kamini and Raat Suhaani Mast Chandni have singers like Kunal Ganjawala, Shreya Ghosal and Shaan give some nice and humorous tracks with western and Indian jingles.
In fact O Mohini can be called the item number of the film. Over all, the film is enjoyable and even if you accompany you lil’uns to the theatre, you won’t be bored. The film has enough masala for older people as well as kids.
Rating: 2.25/5
