Bird Idol Movie Reviews

Indian animation takes a refreshing turn with Bird Idol, a film which transforms a typical Bollywood masala film into animation and converts the love birds, literally into love birds. So that you have a pair of runaway lovers who are birds and are forced to flee their remote jungle village due to its antiquated laws which prevent birds from different species pairing up. Khap panchayats, anyone? The animation is colourful and cheery, the dialogues are crisp, the characters are natty and the voice-over by Prashant Narayan for the wicked vulture is riveting. Take your kids and say a Yes to this energetic indigenous enterprise in the world of animation.

There is hope for Indian animation. Any film that stays away from gods and goddesses, the staple (and extent) of our animated flourishes deserves applause. And `Bird Idol’ earns more brownie points by giving us an original plot, witty lines, and a cast of chirpy, cheerful characters.

A sweet but old bird song. Bird Idol takes great pleasure in drawing birds that don’t just look distinct and dazzling, but also have interesting quirks and character traits. There are a lot of songs in the film and while the music is not bad, the choreography, which very creatively uses birds’ colourful tail feathers and wings, is fascinating. Though Bird Idol has interesting detailing, like Daily Tweeter newspaper and a TV show called Balika Bird Who?, its story is dull and predictable and animation lacks pace and vigour and its comic timing is not pat on. Also, its villainous characters are not scary enough, and its main characters not adorable enough.

BIRD IDOL has some endearing moments, but despite a running time of approx. 100 minutes, it looks like a lengthy exercise. That's because the film abounds in songs and some unwanted scenes and since they [the songs] aren't promoted at all, it reverses the impact created by a few interesting sequences. The animation quality is top notch and the dubbing is in sync. But the problem is that the viewer doesn't carry the characters home, like I did when I watched HANUMAN.