Arjun: The Warrior Prince

Arjun: The Warrior Prince is a 2012 Indian animated action film. The film is directed by Arnab Chaudhuri and produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures. The film was released in India on 25 May 2012.

Plot
The story is based on the early life of the Pandava brothers, loosely taken from the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. The storyline begins with Arjun as a nine-year-old boy, and follows him until he grows into the warrior that the world knows him as. It explores his life with his brothers in Hastinapur, his training and education, and his ultimate discovery of the warrior within himself..

The movie begins with the young prince of Viratnagar asking a maid to tell him a story. The maid narrates him the story of Arjun.

She tells him that Arjun was a student of Drona, and that he learned the art of warfare from him. He was more skilled than all the students of Drona. None of his own brothers, nor his cousins - the hundred Kaurvas - could equal him in the art. Duryodhana and the other Kaurvas despised the Pandavas, for they feared that they might usurp Duryodhana's throne. When the king Dhritrashtra grew older, the rivalry between his sons the Kaurvas and the Pandavas intensified. Twice, Duryodhana attempted to kill all the Pandavas, but failed. To avoid further conflict, Dhritrashtra proclaimed Duryodhana as the crown prince of Hastinapur, and asked Yudhisthira to be the king of a distant unkempt territory of the empire.

In the meantime, Arjun won a swayamvar, and married the daughter of the King of Panchala, Draupadi. Duryodhana, who loathed the Pandavas, hatched a conspiracy with his uncle Shakuni and won all that belonged to the Pandavas in a betting game called chaupar. After losing everything, Yudhisthira betted his own brothers and Draupadi, and even himself. Draupadi was insulted in front of everyone, but Arjuna could not say anything because Yudhisthira was the king, and the king's words are the last words. The Pandavas, according to the rules of the game, had to go into exile for twelve years and an agyatavasa for one year. While all the Pandavas go one way, Arjuna travels North to do tapasya. Before leaving, Draupadi makes him promise that he will take revenge for her insult. He then leaves, and does tapasya, during which he earns a bow from the Lord Shiva.

The story then shifts back to the present day Viratnagar. It is revealed that the Pandavas are spending their secret exile, or 'agyatavasa', there, and are noticed by some of the spies of Duryodhana. According to the outcome of the game, if any one of the Pandavas are found before the end of that one year, the Pandavas will have to again go for a twelve year exile. The spy informs Duryodhana that the Pandavas are in Viratnagar. So he launches an attack on Viratnagar with the help of his bandit friends. The king of Viratnagar leaves to thrash the marauding bandits. However, that is the bait. From the other direction Duryodhana's army comes, and it seems that the young prince of Viratnagar is the only one who is left to fight.

Will the young prince embody all that he has learnt by the telling of the tale of Arjun? Will he himself rise to become a warrior and defend singlehandedly his land against the strength of the mighty Kuru Army and Duryodhan? Watch Arjun: The Warrior Prince to learn the epic conclusion.

Cast

 * Yuddvir Bakolia as Arjun
 * Anjan Srivastav as Lord Shiv
 * Sachin Khedekar as Lord Krishna
 * Ashok Banthia as Bheem
 * Ila Arun as Kunti
 * Vishnu Sharma as Bheeshma

Critical Reception
Arjun: The Warrior Prince received positive reviews. Review aggregator Bollymoviereviewz, gave the movie 3.35 stars out of 5. Priyanka Ketkar of Koimoi gave the movie 4 stars out of 5, saying that Arjun: The Warrior Prince is an extremely engaging movie with fabulous animation and a story of our very own Indian hero." Martin D'Souza of Glamsham gave the movie 4 stars out of 5, commenting that "If your Sunday mornings were spent in front of the television set two decades ago, this one is definitely for you." Madhureeta Mukherjee of Times Of India gave the movie 3.5 stars out of 5, concluding that "Of all the amateurish animation films we've seen, this one's a 'God-send'." Shakti Shetty of Midday gave the movie 3.5 stars out of 5, saying that "Though Arjun: The Warrior Prince is not at par with groundbreaking flicks like WALL·E (that came from the same production house), thanks to moments of technical amateurishness, it’s definitely a forward step for animation. Moreover, it’s not another children’s film and can be relished by grown-ups as well. Indian children who are neck-deep in Japanese anime might experience something fresh and adults will be compelled to test their memory."

Blessy Chettiar of DNA India gave the movie 3 stars out of 5, commenting that "Let your children absorb the story, while you can marvel at this step forward for the Indian animation film industry. It’s a great way to have fun while you learn." Mansha Rastogi of Now Running gave the movie 3 stars out of 5, saying that "Arjun has all the right ingredients to attract its target mass and also a crackling animation work to entice them into his world!" Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the movie 3 stars out of 5, concluding that "I'm going to with three out of five for Arjun: The Warrior Prince. Like its hero, the film too is a valiant effort, and an interesting interpretation of a much-loved mythological story. Worth a watch." Preeti Arora of Rediff gave the movie 3 stars out of 5, saying that "Being an animated film, Arjun is sure to find a connect with children."

It is also a great outing for someone who wishes to walk down nostalgia lane with their favourite tales of the good old days." Ananya Bhattacharya of Zee News gave the movie 3 stars out of 5, concluding that "No form of popular culture can ever encompass the greatness of the man called Arjun. Watch ‘Arjun’ for yet another perspective on him. Watch ‘Arjun’ if you are craving that much-needed break from the current films of the day which have pushed you to the brink of insanity. Watch ‘Arjun’ to see the man who is synonymous with the Mahabharata!" Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the movie 3 stars out of 5, saying "On the whole, Arjun: The Warrior Prince needs to be watched for its animation, for its storytelling and most importantly, it makes an earnest effort to relive the mythology." Aakanksha Naval-Shetye and Chaya Unnikrishnan of DNA India gave the movie 3 stars out of 5, saying that "Director Arnab Chaudhari has kept the narrative fast paced. A nice way of introducing kids to the epic tale."

Anupama Chopra of Hindustan Times gave the movie 3 stars out of 5, concluding that Arjun: The Warrior Prince is a step forward for Indian animation. I only wish the storytelling itself had been more animated." The Hindu gives it a 4, and says "A world class show with a good old Indian touch." Suparna Sharma of the Deccan Chronicle gives it 4 stars out of 5, and says "I really hope there will be a part two of Arjun because this story is really worth telling and Arnab Chaudhuri and his team tell it really well." Twitch Film says Arjun: The Warrior Prince artfully straddles grown up themes and Disney sugar.

Arjun: The Warrior Prince was selected for Fantasia 2012 in Montreal, Canada.

Arjun: The Warrior Prince is in the running for Oscar 2013 Nomination in the Category of Best Animated Features.

Arjun: The Warrior Prince was also in the running for Indian Selection for Oscar 2013 Nomination in the Category of Best Foreign Film. This is the first time ever in the history of the Indian Selection Process that an Animation film has been considered.

Arjun: The Warrior Prince is the first Indian film ever to play at the historic El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.

Arjun: The Warrior Prince is selected for Bhusan International Film Festival 2012 (October), Seoul, South Korea.