Rating: 3.5 stars on 5
‘HanuMan’ has created a lot of buzz over the last year and came with a lot of expectations being Telugu cinema’s first superhero film. Director Prasanth Varma brings us ‘HanuMan’ using Lord Hanuman as a peg but giving us an exhilarating story about a local underdog who turns superhero and saves the day.
‘HanuMan’ is a period film set in a parallel universe with fictional towns. Hanumantha (Teja Sajja) lives in Anjanadri with his sister Anjamma (Varalaxmi) in Anjanadri and whiles away his time with his sidekick and Getup Srinu and by doing petty thefts. Anjanadri, which has a huge statue of Hanuman, is controlled by Gajapathi (Raj Deepak Shetty) as he is seen as saving the villagers from bandits. Meenakshi (Amritha Aiyer) goes up against Gajapathi and meanwhile, Hanumantha discovers a precious stone that is sought after by Michael (Vijay) and his friend Siri (Vennela Kishore) who come from a different world of sorts. What does Maichael do? What happens to Anjanadri? How does Hanumantha come to the rescue of his people? Where does Lord Hanuman come in?
Director Prasanth Varma loves superheroes and follows the superhero template – good versus evil; a magical stone; an underdog; superpowers and a superhero saves the day. He also creates two worlds that co-exist and brings them together using a magical stone that can do wonders. He has also used all the template but important commercial elements of Indian cinema – comedy, romance, fights and sentiment. The story is well-written and executed by Varma and this is one of the highlights of the film which keeps you invested throughout. But it does take some time for the film to find its rhythm and when it does it is smooth sailing. One must talk about the VFX of this film – the movie’s budget is not several hundred crores and despite that, the VFX is good though some bits look a bit inept.
Casting Teja Sajja as the underdog-turned-superhero works well for the film and he has delivered. However, the villain character could have had someone more menacing.
The rest of the cast, including Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Amritha Aiyer, Samuthirakani, Vennela Kishore, Raj Deepak Shetty and Getup Srinu, all are apt for their roles.
‘HanuMan’ from director Prasanth Varma’s Cinematic Universe is a must-watch desi superhero film this festive season. It’s a fun outing not just for kids but
adults too.