Ashwin Kumar was confident of Mahavatar Narsimha's success despite Saiyaara's blazing run; says, 'We saw this

With Mahavatar Narsimha crossing ?100 crores within two weeks of release, director Ashwin Kumar is taking in the historic response to his animated film — but not with surprise. While the film has emerged as India’s biggest animated hit, it did so facing stiff box office competition from titles like Saiyaara and two Hollywood superhero releases.

In with HT City, Kumar says, “We were very clear that animation was the only way to tell this story. The creative freedom it gave us couldn’t be matched by live action. If we had gone that route, the cost would’ve been several times higher. And there’s always a danger that when you cast a superstar, audiences project the image of God onto the actor and vice versa. That’s not what we wanted. We wanted to keep it sacred and clean.”

The film, which reportedly opened with over ?1 crore on day one, saw a massive jump in show count in its second weekend. It’s the first project from an entire ‘universe’ of mythological stories that Kumar’s team has planned.

On how they handled budget constraints, he explains, “We made this film for Rs 40 crore. That’s the truth. Yes, certain scenes especially the last 30-minute rampage and the moment where Prahlad sees Bhagwaan Narsimha needed extra time and effort. We couldn’t afford to do those scenes superficially. They had to connect deeply with the viewer.”

Despite rumours that big stars will lead the second installment, Kumar insists the philosophy of the film won’t change. “We may bring in known voices, but the ‘mool sidhant’ stays. Our focus will always be the emotion of the audience and not the celebrity value. Important people guiding us understand this.”

He adds, “What’s happening now is not just about box office. It’s about people of Bharat accepting their own stories. No one believed us when we said this film would grow like this. But we did. And this is just the beginning.”