One Line Review: What if the mythological hero, Hanuman, is introduced to the modern world to fight off evil?
Hanuman Youtube Trailer
Cast: Teja Sajja, Amritha Aiyer, Vinay Rai, etc.
Release Date: January 12, 2024
Director: Prashanth Varma
Introduction
A robber from Anjanadri accidentally gets the power of Lord Hanuman and he is now burdened with a responsibility to fight the evils on his path.
“Tejja Sajja and Prashanth Varma film takes a leaf from Indian mythology and effortlessly adds it to the superhero genre, delivering an engaging and entertaining film.”
~ Indian Express
Our rating for Hanuman is 8/10.
Summary
Michael, a young boy from Sourashtra – an imaginary place, dreams of becoming a superhero. After figuring out that most superheroes are orphans, he kills his parents in search of superpowers. Years later, with his sidekick Siri, Michael is known as the ‘Mega Man’, a suited superhero who fights against evil. Though Michael keeps on updating himself with technology-boosted powers, he is ruthless and doesn’t hesitate to take the lives of people. Once he gets hurt while trying to fight off some robbers, he starts a quest for an ultimate power that will make his superpower not technical but natural.
Hanumanthu, a carefree young man from Anjanadri, is madly in love with Meenakshi. He is always into petty robberies, but he is also a coward. Meenakshi stands in the way of Gajapathi, a cruel polygar and his ruthless rules imposed in the village. An enraged Gajapathi sends a group of bandits to attack Meenakshi. Hanumanthu indulges in between but gets thrown off a cliff by the bandits.
A wounded Hanumanthu falls into the ocean and finds a gem hidden inside a reef. This gem contains a drop of Lord Hanuman’s blood, and possessing it in the presence of sunlight gives Hanumanthu superpowers.
Micheal learns about Hanumanthu’s superpower and comes to Anjanadri in search of the power’s source. While Hanumanthu tries to handle the powers vested in him for the well-being of his villagers and to fight off evil, his life steers towards a bigger and unexpected cause.
Review
Hanuman boasts Prashant Varma’s unmatchable skill as a director in pulling off such quality content with a minimum budget. While we are quite accustomed to witnessing grand, epic productions bomb drastically at the box office, it is movies like Hanuman that are made with a contained budget and the best quality that win the hearts of audiences.
Set in an imaginary world, Hanuman marks the first of many movies in PCU. And with Hanuman, we can expect a solid cinematic universe on the rise. From the creation of Anjanadri to the cultural essence of the place, Prashanth has penned down everything in detail. The world-building has worked well, and hence the experience is indulging while watching Hanuman’s story unravel onscreen.
Teja Sajja is convincing as Hanumanthu. Vinay Rai is the perfect badass villain. Vinay’s character has traits of Batman, while Vennela Kishore mimics Robin’s. Meenakshi is provided with a very good, strong role and she’s a delight to watch onscreen. Varalakshmi Sharath Kumar, who played the role of Hanumanthu too, delivered a strong performance in the movie.
Enter the best thing about Hanuman – it’s VFX! The visual effects and CGI work by Halo Hues Studios is impeccable! Right from the start, we can see the excellent quality of the visuals on screen. Anjanadri’s grandeur and the way Lord Hanuman’s presence is presented are all very good to witness on the big screen. It is an excellent feat by Prashant to pull off such a result without depending on Western visual effects companies.
The part where Hanuman’s story and the emergency of Gem are shown onscreen is inspired by the starting credits of Baahubali 2. The background score is the next big thing that elevates the movie to the peaks. Gowrahari’s score was so brilliant that it invoked the perfect amount of goosebumps and a devotional feel at the same time.
Prashant has managed to blend the mythology of Lord Hanuman perfectly into a fictional world, taking the audience into a never-before-seen style of narration with fewer flaws. The way Hanuman ends makes people yearn for more. What they have managed to pull off by the climax and the movie – they literally took it to a whole new level. Now that Prashant Varma has proven yet again to be one of the best when it comes to fictional storytelling, we will have to wait and watch what the man has under his sleeves for the future!
Conclusion
Hanuman is made for bigscreens. Go witness the fantasy world created by Prashant Varma and the beginning of an impressive cinematic universe!
