Meet Hanu-Man and Adhira, Telugu cinema's very own super-heroes

Superhero films remain a largely unexplored genre in Indian cinema. In the early 2000s, Rakesh Roshan attempted a superhero franchise with Krrish. Five years later, Shah Rukh Khan starred in Ra.One and in recent times we’ve seen films like Tiger Shroff’s A Flying Jatt (2018) and Bhavesh Joshi Superhero (2018) featuring Harshvardhan Kapoor.

However, superhero films have been far and few in India. And now, Telugu director

Prashanth Varma

is hoping to change that with his upcoming film pan-India superhero series. The first film in this series is titled

Hanu-Man

, based on Lord Hanuman. Featuring Teja Sajja, Amritha Aiyer and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Hanu- Man is Telugu cinema’s first superhero film.

“Telugu heroes have always been superheroes at some level. As an audience, we’re used to watching heroes pull off gravity-defying stunts in commercial cinema. But I wanted someone who looked like Peter Parker, an underdog, to pull off something miraculous after he suddenly gets the power to do so. I wanted to give an explanation for it. I also didn’t just want him to be someone who’s avenging a wrong, like Bhavesh Joshi Superhero. I needed him to be larger-than-life,” says Prashanth.


The filmmaker hopes to build his own ‘cinematic universe’ based on Indian mythology a la Marvel or DC. “I’m surprised no one has thought of it before. Hanuman is the most powerful god I can think of so I wanted to start off with him, build a character based on him to give him an origin story. Mythology has always influenced me a lot as a filmmaker. I plan on adding more characters to the universe,” explains the filmmaker.

The crew has been shooting for the past 100 days at specially erected sets in Hyderabad, Maredumalli and Paderu. Teja Sajja, who plays Hanuman in the film, says, “To prove myself as a lead actor has been a challenge by itself, so imagine my surprise when Prashanth wanted me to play a village boy-turned-superhero. When Prashanth told me that he doesn’t want me to buff up for the film, I was really confused. But after hearing the script, it all makes sense. It feels great to be a part of a pan-India superhero film.”

The first look of the film shows Teja Sajja firing a catapult from atop a tree. “Hanumanthu is an Indian superhero. It’s being shot in multiple languages, with certain scenes tweaked to suit every specific region. Even

Hanumanthu

’s costumes are very regional, so is his look in general. I’ve also worked with a linguistic expert to get a slang that’s very Indian but not specific to any region,” adds Teja.

While Hanu-Man is also already in the works, Prashanth has already launched the second film in his superhero universe. Titled

Adhira

, the film features debutante Kalyan Dasari in the lead role, and is also inspired by mythology. “Adhira has this special skill of generating electric energy since his childhood and he becomes stronger and valiant as he grows up. Like every other superhero, he is there to destroy evil and protect the innocent. The weapon he wields appears in a backbone shape, and is like Lord Indra’s powerful weapon, Vajrayudha,” says Prashanth, “It’s taken a long time for superhero films to be made in India but I think the audience is finally ready for a superhero universe.”