While Hanu-Man is imperfect, mainly due to its chintzy visual effects, Prasanth Varma introduces a new cinematic universe and mostly succeeds.
Writer-director: Prasanth Varma
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Superhero
Run Time: 158′
Fantasia Premiere: August 3, 2024
Release Date: January 12, 2024 in select US theaters & UK cinemas
Where to watch: on digital & VOD (India)
Within the first few minutes of Hanu-Man, which had its Québec premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival, director Prasanth Varma immediately asks you to suspend your disbelief. We see Michael (Vikas), a young boy longing to become a superhero, but his parents do not let him pursue his dreams. He then realizes that the only reason that heroes like Spider-Man and Batman became superheroes was that their parents died, giving them the fuel to become heroes in their own right.
This leads him to…kill his parents in a fire. Yes, the boy is around ten, but nothing will stop him in the way of becoming a superhero, and since most origin stories begin with dead parents, why not do it himself? Jesus. We then cut to many years later, when Michael (now played by Vinay Rai), who has become a superhero, exacts a killing spree on bank robbers. However, he does not possess any superpowers. His sidekick, Siri (Vennela Kishore), has made a slew of high-tech gadgets to give him superhuman powers. But after we saw him kill his parents in the fire, we know that he’s no hero, and will never rise to be one.
We then cut to Anjanadri, where petty thief Hanumanthu (Teja Sajja), goes after a group of bandits who attempt to kill the girl he has a crush on, Meenakshi (Amritha Aiyer), but falls into a river. Hanumanthu awakens and is guided near a gem underwater, which he inadvertently touches without knowing the repercussions it will have on its body. Badly injured, he awakens and quickly regains his sense of self, so much so that he is able to beat another group of bandits intimidating locals to a complete pulp (one of them even goes so far up the sky he reaches birds).
Hanumanthu has no idea what’s happening or why his injuries healed so quickly. But this catches the interest of Michael, who sees a video of the thief survive a gnarly train hit online. Michael knows something’s up and travels to Anjanadri to find the source of Hanumanthu’s power, but it proves more complicated than Michael thinks because Hanumanthu knows Michael is onto him, and he will not give him the gem willingly.
The rest of the movie is a cat-and-mouse game between the hero and the villain, with some of the chintziest visual effects my eyes have witnessed in a long time. But none of it feels soulless, or purposefully bad. In fact, Varma’s love for superhero cinema shines so brightly on the screen that it almost doesn’t matter if the green screen looks unfinished, or if the CGI effects of Lord Rama look almost as lifeless as in Om Raut’s Adipurush. However, compared to that film, each action scene is treated with passion and reverence for the movies and comic books that have inspired Varma.
As a result, it’s impossible not to have the biggest grin on your face when Hanumanthu performs the most insane feats of derring-do ever put to screen (it’s an exaggeration, but it sure feels like the most epic movie you’ve ever watched). Sure, it’s a bit too crazy, and it has tons of shoddily edited wall-to-wall action where the BGM blares at the speakers while composer/songwriter GowaHari and Anudeep Dev go “RAM RAM RAM” as Hanumanthu kicks the most ass possible. Each shot is meant to be the most epic of all time, and, in turn, makes the punches, kicks, and bodyslam feel larger-than-life.
There were no shortages of cheers from the Fantasia audience, who erupted in applause every time Hanumanthu would do something badass (which occurs for most of the movie). But Varma takes his time to introduce an emotional arc before going all out into nonstop brawls, which gives each action sequence weight, because we ultimately care about the inhabitants of Anjanadri. Maybe the villain is a bit over-the-top, and acts more like an amalgamation of every superhero trope there is (there are lots of references to Marvel and DC, including Henry Cavill’s suit from Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel in the background of Michael’s compound), but he still poses as a menacing foe for not only Hanumanthu, but the village itself.
These choices give Hanu-Man emotional texture, and we’re ultimately won over by its sheer sense of grandeur and exuberance. Sejja had already worked with Varma in Zombie Reddy, but he’s in a completely different territory here. Not only can he dutifully command the screen when required, but his portrayal of the protagonist is far more layered than meets the eye, particularly when he experiences a tragedy that profoundly changes him.
This immediately shifts his arc, bringing even bigger weight to the action, which is surprisingly more cathartic and effective. Unfortunately, this incredible climax doesn’t last very long because Varma fills the screen with as much hokey CGI as possible for a one-on-one brawl worthy of most underwhelming superhero media climaxes (think of the series finale of Secret Invasion). Some of it is inspired, including a moment featuring a helicopter, but most of the worldbuilding that is designed to set up a new cinematic universe (powerfully introduced in its opening moments as the Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe) falls flat.
Instead of closing out Hanu-Man on a high and making the audience clamor for more, Varma is too busy setting up the next cinematic universe and franchise to the detriment of making the current film we’re watching the best it can be. It’s still an experience to be had, for sure, especially as it delves into Indian mythology in a far more interesting way than Adipurush, but it does not satisfactorily close this chapter of the cinematic universe. It instead tacks on a title card for the sequel and asks audiences to come back in 2025.
Listen, I’ll be there, but there should’ve been an ending to the movie, because most of it is pretty damn good! And while it’s not a perfect watch, Hanu-Man is still best experienced with a crowd who will suspend their disbelief and bask in its insanity for 158 unbelievable minutes. Props to the Fantasia International Film Festival for not only showing the movie in Telugu (a rare feat in Canada, due to increasing criminal activity surrounding South Indian films), but for also including a 15-minute intermission. This never happens when Indian films play at Cineplexes, and so to have seen done for Hanu-Man at Fantasia is the biggest sign of respect the festival has for Indian cinema. Here’s hoping this will open the door for more Telugu and Tamil films to play at the festival in the following year, and further editions to come!
Hanu-Man premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival on August 3, 2024.
