Prayagraj, April 2021: In a press release at the Kumbh Mela event yesterday, producer and writer, Mr. Vikram Betal, announced the making of a new blockbuster movie building the origin of HanuMan and his adventurous attempt at saving Ayodhya from ruin. The live action movies are set in modern day Ayodhya with futuristic technology and ancient wisdom. The superhero based on the mythological character of the same name will be the star in a movie trilogy (to be released in Hindi as well as 8 other regional languages) and an animated television series for kids. A short teaser was also unveiled at the press meet.
“Hanuman is a character epitomising strength (physical and of-character), morals, and devotion to a cause. He works tirelessly toward protecting all that he believes sacred,” says Mr. Valmiki, co-writer of the movie. “There have been many screen adaptations of Hanuman’s story but they all tell the same stories in the same millennia old setting. We are expending the creative effort of setting Hanuman in the 21st century.”
The pre-production for the first movie has completed and production has just begun. It is set to introduce the ancient secret society of Hanumen and their current leader, the Hanuman. “This is a classic origin story movie that establishes who our protagonist is and how he is struggling with his devotion to saving humans and saving morals,” said Mr. Valmiki. “The Ministry of Propaganda approached us last week and asked if we could set the premise as, ‘Hanuman can save only one at a time, but you, mortal human, can follow safety guidelines and save hundreds.’ We’ve not decided what to do. An apprentice of mine came up with the idea of making an Animatrix-esque short film. So maybe we’ll do that.”
Film critics have already show appreciation for the teaser and in the short teaser of the movie, we see the titular character, Shiv Kumar, turn into Hanuman by ripping the skin flap on his chest open and chanting “Jai Shri Ram”. The writers revealed that they initially considered the transformation act too gory and wanted Shiv to beat his chest with his fists instead. But further discussions established this too close to Tarzan for comfort and the peoples’ self-deprecating humour.
American and Japanese superheroes begin their stories in comic books and then they are adapted for motion picture. When asked about this, producer Mr. Betal said, “No, we’re not doing comic books. One, people don’t read comic books. Two, people don’t buy comic books. Three, people can’t afford comic books, at least the people who we think will be interested in our comic books. Anyway, we have ancient stories of the Hanuman in spoken and written word. I don’t think making a graphic novel first is necessary.”
The Hanuman Trilogy is expected to hit theatres over the next three years and is also expected to boggle the minds of both critics and audiences. There are plans to introduce side-kicks like Jatayu, Angad, and Sugreev; whether they will be included in the trilogy itself or be part of a more expansive superhero universe is not known at the moment. Talks of a spin-off animated television show titled Adolescent Avatars Go!, consisting of avatars of Vishnu and Shiva, have also surfaced.
Indigenous creativity appears to be approaching every screen near you soon, but it might be a bit too early to tell you that you wouldn’t be in the wrong to have high hopes, this time.