Prasanth Varma's 'HanuMan': A Telugu Superhero Epic Making Waves in Indian Cinema

The newest Telugu film, "HanuMan," has captured the attention of viewers nationwide. According to filmmaker Prasanth Varma, who has long been enthralled with Indian culture, this is only the beginning of a new superhero series.

With Teja Sajja in the forefront, "HanuMan" has become an overwhelming success, grossing over Rs 200 crore at the international box office. The film's portrayal of the traditional good vs evil superhero tale with a dash of mythology has garnered appreciation from reviewers.

"Its triumph feels like a pipe dream," said Varma, the director of "Awe" and "Zombie Reddy" in the past.

"I had no idea that this was all taking place. In an interview with PTI, the 34-year-old director said, "It took me two or three days for all this to sink in because I have never in my life experienced so much success in terms of love from the audience."

"The public enjoyed all of my earlier pictures, but we never earned a lot of money. I used to be that director that produced excellent movies but doesn't bring in a lot of money for the studios. However, I believe this is the first occasion in my career that it has occurred in this manner. I believe it to be at least ten times better than any of my earlier movies," he said.

The story of "HanuMan" takes place in the made-up city of Anjanadri, where Sajja, a small-time robber given abilities by Lord Hanuman, plays Hanumanthu. He battles Michael in order to rescue the people of Anjanadri; Michael longs to have a power that would enable him to be a powerful superhero.

As "Jai HanuMan" and "Adhira" are the first two films in the projected cinematic universe, Varma has already begun work on their sequels.

"The myths and legends from our culture have always captivated me. During my investigation into "HanuMan," I discovered other mythological figures that we haven't truly looked into. Additionally, the spectators are unaware of them. I thus reasoned that it would be intriguing to develop new personalities and tell about their brilliance concurrently," he said.

For a filmmaker, exploring mythical tales without offending people is a very fine line to tread. Passionate with legendary figures and tales, Varma said it all boils down to the storyteller's goal while creating the film.

"I really did mean what I said. Making a lot of money wasn't my goal when I started this movie. People would have found several issues with the movie if I had gone in that direction. Everything fit because the aim was genuine. I believe that people were understanding of our little errors since our intentions were good ", he said.

Making a superhero movie in India is difficult, according to Varma, particularly because of financial limitations.

"To write a new superhero with unique powers and weaknesses is difficult because there are so many superheroes that are already there with (Hollywood studios) Marvel and DC," he said.

Making a superhero movie is difficult in a nation where common heroes are portrayed as mythical characters, he remarked.

"Our heroes already do the majority of the acrobatics performed by superheroes. We portray our heroes as if they are already gods and superheroes. They are capable of gravity-defying acrobatics and can kick 100 people at once. Thus, the public has already seen our heroes doing all of these actions. Therefore, it doesn't seem to make much of a difference even if we say "superhero." Thus, it serves as our test as well," the director said.

"HanuMan" is Varma and Sajja's third joint project after their work on the 2021 movies "Zombie Reddy" and "Adbhutham". Praised by the director as an actor who is "passionate about cinema" is Sajja.

"I wanted to select an actor who could give the movie his all and be totally dedicated to it when I was auditioning for it. He needed to look the part and keep a certain appearance. Thus, I believe Teja is a good match. He's an incredible actor and the cutest underdog, and he can give me enough time to finish this movie," he said.

The Primeshow Entertainment-produced film "HanuMan" also features Vinay Rai, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, and Amritha Aiyer.

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