Director Prasanth Varma, who has always been enthralled with Indian culture, believes that HanuMan, the most recent Telugu film that has captured the attention of people nationwide, is just the beginning of a new superhero franchise.
HanuMan, starring Teja Sajja, is a box office sensation that has made over Rs 200 crore worldwide. Critics have lauded the movie for its mythological take on the traditional good vs evil superhero tale.
The director of Awe and Zombie Reddy, Ram Gopal, claimed that the film’s success felt like a dream come true.
“I didn’t realise that it was all happening. It took me two-three days for all this to sink in because never in my life have I experienced so much success in terms of love from the audience,” the 34-year-old filmmaker told in an interview.
“All my previous films were loved by the audience, but we never made a lot of money. I was that filmmker who makes good cinema but doesn’t make a lot of money for the producers. But I think for the first time in my career, it has happened in such a way… I think it is easily 10 times more than any of my previous films,” he added.
The story of HanuMan takes place in the made-up city of Anjanadri, where Sajja, a small-time criminal given abilities by Lord Hanuman, is known as Hanumanthu. He battles Michael in order to save the people of Anjanadri; Michael longs to have a power that would enable him to be a powerful superhero.
Two follow-ups, Jai Hanuman and Adhira, are already planned by Prasanth Varma, marking the start of a cinematic universe.
“I have always been fascinated by the stories from our mythology and culture. When I was researching HanuMan, I found more characters in our mythology that we have not really explored. The audiences are also not aware of them. So I thought, it’d be interesting if I could create new characters and narrate their greatness at the same time,” he said.
For a filmmaker, exploring mythological tales without offending people is a very fine line to walk. Passionate with legendary figures and tales, Varma said it all boils down to the storyteller’s goal when creating the film.
“My intention was true. I didn’t want to make this film to make a lot of money. If I would have done that, I’m sure people would find many problems in the film. Since the intention was true, everything fell in place. Even if we made small mistakes, I think people were okay with that because the intention was pure,” he said.
According to Varma, financial limitations are a major reason why making a superhero movie in India is challenging.
“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 added.
In a country where everyday heroes are presented as larger-than-life figures, making a superhero film is a challenge, he said.
“Most of the stunts done by superheroes are already being done by our heroes. We show our heroes as if they’re already superheroes and gods. They can kick 100 people in one go or do gravity-defying stunts. So, the audience has already seen our heroes doing all this stuff. So even if we say a superhero, it doesn’t look much of a difference. So that is also the test for us,” the director added.
Hanu Man is Varma and Teja Sajja’s third joint project; they previously collaborated on the 2021 movies Adbhutham and Zombie Reddy. Sajja was praised by the director as an actress who is “passionate about cinema.”
“I wanted to select an actor who could give the movie his all and be totally dedicated to it when I was casting for it. He needed to look the part and maintain a certain appearance. Thus, I believe Teja is a good fit. He’s an incredible actor and the cutest underdog, and he can give me enough time to finish this movie,” he continued.
HanuMan, which is produced by Primeshow Entertainment, also features Vinay Rai, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, and Amritha Aiyer.
