Some might call it a routine reveal, but this one had the feel of a stadium final. The crowd of 10,000 in Cuttack that turned out for the Mahaprabhu Jagannath trailer – the country’s first theatrical animated feature on the deity – made their feelings known with plenty of noise.
With ‘Jai Jagannath’ being chanted all around, the screen came to life with colour and feeling. In a way, it was a rite of passage for Indian animation, where the kind of scale you see in a movie meets the spirit of a gathering.
What makes this one stand out
There is no mistaking the quality of the animation here; it’s put in to make our heritage come alive for the little ones. The trailer doesn’t put you on the spot with a sermon so much as it shows you what devotion and unity look like in practice.
It’s really about the give-and-take between Lord Jagannath and his followers. You get a sense of youth in the way it’s put together, but never at the expense of respect. That is a hard line to walk for a faith-based film, and they’ve done it well.
A launch with some heft to it
Pujya Shri Indresh Upadhyay Maharaj Ji, the orator behind the Shrimad Bhagwat Katha in Cuttack, was the one to put the trailer out there. The people who made it will tell you it was the largest in-person trailer event for an animated film in the country.
In case you were there, these are the highlights:
– Put in front of more than 10,000 devotees
– Part of the Shrimad Bhagwat Katha in Cuttack
– Brought to us by Pujya Shri Indresh Upadhyay Maharaj Ji
– A record for a physical animated trailer in India
They know what families are after
Durga Prasad Dalai, the man from Ele Animations, put it best. ‘To have ten thousand hearts in unison while you’re watching your work is hard to describe,’ he put it. And you could tell he meant it.
The kind of reaction we saw is proof that when you put some good animation around our traditions, it resonates. He wants to make sure the kids of today stay connected to where they come from, but in a way that is worth a trip to the cinema.
Who is behind the scenes
Ele Animations has put this together, with Durga Prasad Dalai producing. If you are familiar with the Pogo show Jay Jagannath, you know the studio. Shripad Warkhedkar is on the director’s chair and Pallavi Sharma has put pen to paper for the script and lines.
Then you have Aviral Kumar with the score, adding the right kind of emotion to the story. It is made for the big screen and for the whole family, not just the young ones.
And now for the rest of it
After the kind of response at the Bhagwat Katha, the plan is to go all in. Mark 10th July for the release in Hindi, Odia and Telugu.
Timing is everything. The buzz from the trailer should do some of the talking for them. Whether you are new to animation or a long-time devotee, this is a way to see a modern, yet proper, version of the tale.
Where this leaves Indian animation
You don’t often see a story of faith get this kind of all-ages, theatrical run. Mahaprabhu Jagannath is an attempt to close the gap in the living room and have everyone on the same page.
Judging by how the trailer was taken, there is an appetite for homegrown work that is bold and has its roots in the culture. We’ll see if it holds up when the doors open on 10th July, but it is one to keep an eye on.
