Mahavatar Narasimha Thrills Fans With Epic Pakistan Release

India and Pakistan haven’t been on the best terms lately. Actors banned, movies blocked, it’s been tense. But here’s a surprise: Mahavatar Narasimha, a full-on Hindu mythological animated film, screened in Pakistan. And it wasn’t just a small thing, hundreds of Pakistani Hindus came to the Swami Narayan Temple in Karachi to watch it. People were moved, some even emotional. Shows that admiration for culture can pop up in the most unexpected places.

The movie already smashed it in India, collecting over Rs 300 crores. Ashwin Kumar directed it, Hombale Films produced, and it’s been getting word-of-mouth love ever since release. What grabbed audiences? The animation, the mythological scenes, the Narasimha avatar bursting off the screen, basically, it felt alive.

It didn’t stop in theatres. Netflix got its share of eyeballs too, breaking records and keeping the buzz going. And now, it’s in the Oscar race, listed among 35 films for Best Animated Film at the 98th Academy Awards. If it makes it to nominations, it would be the first Indian animated movie to do so. That’s huge. Just huge. And on top of that, Homebound is competing in another category, so Indian films are really putting themselves on the world map.