Mumbai: Animated feature film Mahaprabhu Jagannath, which was earlier scheduled for a July 17 release, is now hitting the silver screens on August 28.
The film, which is designed as a fictional story to instill devotion and cultural values in young minds, marks a milestone as Odisha’s first animated feature film, is being released by Cinepolis. The film follows the success of the earlier released animated series, ‘Jay Jagannath’, which captured millions of views during its television run. Just before its scheduled July 17th premiere, the Orissa High Court issued an interim stay on the national release following a PIL filed seeking judicial review of the film’s content, as per a statement.
Challenging the stay, the production house appealed to the Supreme Court, citing its CBFC ‘U’ certification and the financial strain on over 300 booked theaters.
Expressing gratitude over the court’s decision, Durga Prasad Dalai, Founder of Ele Animations and Producer of the film, said in a statement: “We created Mahaprabhu Jagannath with utmost devotion, love, and respect for our culture. The apex court subsequently cleared the nationwide release of the film. We are immensely grateful to the Supreme Court for upholding artistic freedom while honoring faith. The project is helmed by producer Durga Prasad Dalai, Founder of Ele Animations, and director Shripad Warkhedkar, with the story and screenplay written by Pallavi Sharma, original songs composed by Arjit Shrivastava, background score by Aviral Kumar, and lyrics penned by Atul Kumar Verma.
