''Swami Ayyappan'' is a 2012 animated Indian film about the legend of Swami Ayyappan. It is the first animated portrayal of Ayyappan. The 90-minute film, produced through a collaboration of Toonz Animation India and Animagic Motion Pictures Production, was planned to be released in theatres in the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

and Telugu languages. Mahesh Vettiyar wrote the story, and co-directed the film with Chetan Sharma. P. Jayakumar served as executive producer.

Synopsis

The film covers Ayyappan's life at

Pandalam Pandalam is a municipal town in Pathanamthitta district Kerala, India. Pandalam is considered a holy town due to its connection with Lord Ayyappa and Sabarimala. Rightly recognised to be the ''educational and cultural capital of Central Trava ...

as the young Manikandan, born out of the union between

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

and

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

in his

Mohini Mohini (Sanskrit: मोहिनी, ') is the Hindu goddess of enchantment. She is the only female avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a '' femme fatale'', an enchantress, who maddens lovers and demons, sometimes leading them ...

avatar, his childhood at the

gurukul Education in India is primarily managed by state-run public education system, which fall under the command of the government at three levels: central, state and local. Under various articles of the Indian Constitution and the Right of Childre ...

, and the miracles he performed. It depicts Manikandan's fight with

Udayana Udayana, ( Devanagari: उदयन) also known as Udayanācārya (Udyanacharya, or Master Udayana), (circa 975 - 1050 CE) was an Indian philosopher and logician of the tenth century of the Nyaya school who attempted to devise a rational theo ...

, the slaying of the demoness

Mahishi Mahishi is a village situated in the Saharsa district of northern Bihar. It is 16 kilometers west of the Saharsa district headquarters and 8 kilometers west of Bangaon, Bihar. It is place of utmost religious importance due to Shaktipeeth of God ...

and the instances that lead to his friendship with

Vavar Vavar (), known reverently as Vavarswami, is a legendary figure from Kerala. He is the celebrated Muslim acquaintance of Hindu deity Ayappan. There is a shrine dedicated to Vavaraswami at Sabarimala, as well as Vavaraswami's mosque at Erumely opp ...

, a robber from

Turkistan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turk ...

. This friendship is considered to be the epitome of religious tolerance till this day. Once the purpose of his embodiment is fulfilled, Manikandan gets united with the idol in the

Sabarimala Temple The Sabarimala Temple (; ml, ശബരിമല ക്ഷേത്രം) is a temple complex located at Sabarimala hill inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. It is one of the largest ...

and is henceforth known as ‘Swami Ayyappan’.

Reception

The movie's promo won a 2013 TASI

Anifest India The International Festival of Animated Films AniFest was an international festival of animated films that was annually held in the Czech Republic from the years 2002 to 2013, when Anifest was merged with Anifilm. In the festivals prime, the even ...

Viewer's Choice Award in the 'best film - commissioned' category, and a 2014

FICCI The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. History Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian businessman G.D. Birla an ...

BAF award for Best Animated promo (international).

References

{{reflist

External links

Official page
on

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''Swami Ayyappan''
at the

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Indian animated films 2012 films 2012 animated films Hindu mythological films