Mahavatar Narsimha maker Ashwin Kumar: Animation allows me to express without limitations

At a time when live-action retellings of Indian mythology is all the rage, filmmaker Ashwin Kumar has leveraged his expertise in animation and spent 5 years to tell one such tale in animated format. Ashwin is bringing the story of Mahavatar Narsimha, the fourth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, to the big screen on July 25, 2025, with KGF, Kantara and Salaar makers Hombale Films presenting it in theatres. Why did he choose to tell his story in the medium he’s most comfortable in- animation – instead of a live action feature with a big star?

'Refrained from projecting actors on to gods and vice versa'

“Animation allows me to express without limitation. A fantastical story such as this requires that kind of a treatment. Say, when you have Lord Narasimha swamy with 8 hands and each hand is engaged in a fight – this is larger than life. When Narasimha and Hiranyakashipu fight, it is a celestial fight; it is not a mundane tussle between two road-side goons, or a hero and antagonist. This is celestial level action. And, of course, the medium of animation has a certain purity to it. In live action, you have a tendency of projecting actors on to gods and vice versa, which we’ve refrained from,” explained Ashwin in conversation with Gulte Pro.

But wouldn’t having a big star have made it easier to sell the film? “Yes, but it can backfire also, as we know from the past. We did not want that. We want people to come and revere and watch the animation too. Here, it is purely about the story and our efforts,” said the filmmaker, adding that his promise to audiences is a never-before-seen climax on the big screen.

Also read: Mahavatar Narsimha maker Ashwin Kumar: This is not the best animation in the world, but it’s a step towards that direction 

The 2 hour 11 minute animated film Mahavatar Narsimha will release in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. It tells the story of the half human half lion incarnation of Lord Vishnu taking on the demon Hiranyakashipu to protect his biggest devotee, Prahlada.