Arjun

Music Director: Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani

Producer: Ronnie Screwvala

Director: Arnab Chaudhuri

Plot:

There was a time when families used to gather on Sunday mornings around the idiot box to watch the epic Mahabharata. The classic story of bravery, betrayal, trust, love is now back but only more focused to the great warrior prince Arjun.  Arnab Chaudhuri’s Arjun: The Warrior Prince is jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, delicious-looking animated film on the life of the glorious Arjun. Read the review for more.

Rating: 4/5 stars (Four stars)

Voice Cast: Yuddvir Bakolia, Anjan Srivastav, Sachin Khedekar, Ila Arun and Vishnu Sharma.

What’s Good: The delicious-looking animation; the superb narration; the beautiful music.

What’s Bad: Not much except that Draupadi and Karna’s parts were quite ambiguous.

Verdict: Arjun:  The Warrior Prince is an extremely engaging movie with fabulous animation and a story of our very own Indian hero.

Loo Break: A couple in the first half.

Watch or Not?: Kids, or no kids, this one is definitely a must-watch for all age-groups.

User rating:

“Arjun, tumhe kya najar aa raha hai?” (“Arjun, what can you see?”) asks Dronacharya. Arjun immediately responds, “Keval uss pakshi ki aankh…” (“Only the eye of the bird”) that is Arjun for us; a dedicated, unwavering archer with the brilliance and bravery to become one of the greatest warriors, history has ever witnessed.

With four real brothers and a hundred cousins, the prince Arjun starts his training under Guru Dronacharya. As the days pass, the rivalry among the Pandavas and the Kauravas also intensifies and soon it translates into such hatred that drives the Pandavas out of their kingdom Hastinapur. Duryodhan, the eldest of the Kauravas is spiteful and decides to finish-off the Pandavas. The Pandavas return after a miraculous escape with Princess Draupadi as Arjun’s wife, after a stunning and a very “real” Swayamwar.

Soon the scene shifts to Virat, where the Pandavas are serving their 13 year exile. While you await the Great War to erupt between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, the story comes to an end with Arjun showcasing that he is a real Warrior and a True Prince.

Arjun: The Warrior Review: Script Analysis

When there is so much to choose from, it is really difficult to isolate a few incidents from history and show them in a logical sequence so as to formulate a perfect story. But Arjun: The Warrior Prince does exactly that. The script is compressed without losing the essence or grandeur of the epic saga. The superb chase-scenes on horse chariots in the beginning, the Swayamwar scene, the fire-scene, the chakravyuh and many such scenes are first-rate and the fights.

Arjun: The Warrior Prince: Voice Cast, Direction & Music

The voice cast has done complete justice to the images on-screen. Although initially, for a few moments you do feel that there is a lag in audio, it soon settles and you start to enjoy the saga.

Hats-off to director Arnab Chaudhuri for choosing an amazing and unique style of narration. The movie moves in such a way that it feels like it has happened in the past but soon you realize that it is actually unfolding right in front of your eyes. The ease with which the director makes this transition is laudable. The end will probably disappoint a few, but it is only a momentary disappointment and it will only make you want to know when the next part to the movie will be out. The animation is mind-blowing with some scenes which almost resemble paintings while some that give you the feeling that you are right there in the middle of all the action (and all this despite of it not being in 3D). And, the emotions feel so real that you will react to them like you would while watching a non-animated movie.

Another plus point of the movie is without doubt, the background music and the songs. The music captures the mood of the film and you will find yourself tapping your feet to the music. In fact, in the theatre where I saw the movie, kids were singing the songs while coming out of the theatre. So, despite the fact that the songs are the typical Kailash Kher songs, they easily connect with the children.

Arjun: The Warrior Prince: The Last Word

For the sake of quality animation, for the sake of an hour well-spent and for the sake of a true Indian hero, Arjun: The Warrior Prince is truly a must-watch.

Arjun: The Warrior Prince Trailer

Arjun: The Warrior Prince releases in India on 25 May 2012.