“Mahavatar Narsimha”: Community as Campaign

In July 2025, Mahavatar Narsimha — a 3D animated retelling of Hindu mythology directed by Ashwin Kumar of Kleem Productions, backed by Hombale Films, became India’s highest-grossing animated Film, earning ?326 crore worldwide on a reported budget of ₹15–40 crore. It achieved this without celebrity casting, without conventional Marketing Spend, and with an audience mobilized almost entirely through devotional communities, International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) networks, religious group viewings, and organic social media. By November 2025, Ashwin Kumar was in pre-production for “Mahavatar Parshuram”, the second of seven planned films in the Mahavatar Cinematic Universe facing three documented and potentially incompatible strategic directions: deepen the devotional Community model that built the first film’s success; scale up the animation franchise to meet raised audience and investor expectations; or expand into live-action cinema in response to active solicitation from some of the most commercially powerful figures in Indian Film. The case places students at this moment of maximum strategic leverage and asks them to analyze what worked, why it worked, whether it can be sustained, and what Ashwin Kumar should do.

[Formula: see text]It was a Monday evening in Mumbai, August 8, 2025, for the first time ever, a Movie’s success meet was held not in a five-star ballroom but at the ISKCON ¹ Temple in Juhu. The filmmakers decided to skip the conventional route and embraced divinity, seeking the blessings of the divine force. The devotees gathered at the temple’s courtroom for the evening aarti (devotional prayer ritual). The fragrance of incense sticks hung in the air and a framed picture of Lord Narsimha was witnessing the celebration. Right from Hombale Films’ Co-founder Chaluve Gowda, distributors, producer, and director — Kumar gathered to celebrate the success.

[Formula: see text]Another surprise which no one was ready for was Kumar announcing the forthcoming line-up of the animated franchise for the upcoming decade: “Mahavatar Parshuram (2027), Mahavatar Raghunandan (2029), Mahavatar Dwarkadhish (2031), Mahavatar Gokulananda (2033), Mahavatar Kalki Part 1 (2035), and Mahavatar Kalki Part 2 (2037)”. ² This franchise represents a faith-driven creative act — the 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu as penned in Indian religious scriptures.

[Formula: see text]Kumar left the ISKCON Temple that evening holding two futures simultaneously. One was a devotional offering that had become a cultural phenomenon through faith, Community, and patience. The other was a 12-year commercial franchise, publicly committed, investor-backed, and now carrying the expectations of an industry that had watched Indian animation finally break through its ceiling.

[Formula: see text]The first film had succeeded, in large part, because it had no conventional strategy. The next one could not be made without one. What should Kumar do? Should he follow the same unconventional approach and capitalize on the power of religious communities or plan something conventional with a huge marketing budget for the sequel?

¹ ISKCON, a global Vaishnava Hindu movement founded in 1966, with centers across 150 countries. ² Koimoi, “Mahavatar Narsimha Box Office Collection Day 20: Surpasses Ajay Devgn’s Raid 2, 15.29 Crores Away from a Historic Milestone”, 10, https://www.koimoi.com/box-office/mahavatar-narsimha-box-office-collection-day-20-surpasses-ajay-devgns-raid-2-15-29-crores-away-from-a-historic-milestone/.