Hanu-Man

Hanu-Man
Directed by	Prasanth Varma
Screenplay by	Scriptsville
Story by	Prasanth Varma
Produced by	K. Niranjan Reddy
Starring	Teja Sajja Amritha Aiyer Varalaxmi Sarathkumar Samuthirakani Vinay Rai Vennela Kishore
Cinematography	Dasaradhi Sivendra
Edited by	Sai Babu Talari
Music by	Score: GowraHari Songs: GowraHari Anudeep Dev
Production company	Primeshow Entertainment
Distributed by	Mythri Movie Makers RKD Studios AA Films Sakthi Film Factory
Release date	12 January 2024 (2024-01-12)
Running time	158 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Budget	₹40 crore
Box office	₹300 crores

Hanu-Man (also marketed as HanuMan) is a 2024 Indian Telugu-language superhero movie written and directed by Prasanth Varma and produced by Primeshow Entertainment. It stars Teja Sajja in the title role, alongside Amritha Aiyer, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Samuthirakani, Vinay Rai and Vennela Kishore. The movie is set in the fictional village of Anjanadri and is the first installment of the Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe (PVCU). Set in a fictional place called Anjanadri, the movie follows the story of Hanumanthu, who gets the power of Lord Hanuman to save the people of Anjanadri, and faces off against Michael after coming in contact with a mysterious gem.

The movie was officially announced in May 2021. Principal photography commenced on 25 June 2021 in Hyderabad and was wrapped by mid-April 2023. The movie has music composed by GowraHari and Anudeep Dev; cinematography by Dasaradhi Sivendra; visual effects supervised by Venkat Kumar Jetty; and editing by Sai Babu Talari.

Hanu-Man was released on 12 January 2024, on the occasion of Sankranti to positive reviews from critics praising Prashanth Varma's direction, screenwriting, cast performances, visualisation of Lord Hanuman, background score, VFX, production design, and action sequences. The movie broke several box-office records for a Telugu movie. The movie has grossed over ₹300 crore (US$39 million), emerging as the second highest-grossing Indian movie of 2024, highest-grossing Telugu movie of 2024 and the eighth highest-grossing Telugu movie worldwide. A sequel is in development.

Plot

In 1998 Saurashtra, a young Michael's unreasonable fascination with superheroes is strictly opposed by his father when he injures himself in an attempt to fly. His parents soon succumb to a fire accident. In the present, Michael takes the assistance of his friend Siri's innovations to become an applauded "superhero" called Mega Man in the city of Mumbai but pines for the possession of a formidable power that would make him a real superhero.

Lord Indra's assault on a young Hanuman resulted in a blood drop of his to fall in a sea of South India; the blood drop progressed into a divine gem possessing Lord Hanuman's powers. On the banks of the sea lies Anjanadri, a dystopian hamlet suffering from the tyranny of its Polygar named Gajapathi. Hanumanthu, a petty thief and an inhabitant of Anjanadri, has a huge crush on the local school headmaster's granddaughter Meenakshi. The latter opposes Gajapathi's despotism and motivates the villagers to revolt. An intimidated Gajapathi loots the natives and launches a fake bandit attack on Meenakshi with an intent to eliminate her. Hanumanthu, who has been the secret saviour of Meenakshi since their childhood, manages to avert the ambush but is severely wounded and thrown into the sea. Meenakshi, who has been yearning to discover the identity of her saviour, fails to see him. Inside the sea, Hanumanthu inadvertently gets hold the gem.

The next morning, an unconscious Hanumanthu is found lying on the shore and taken home, concerning his elder sister Anjamma and best friend Kashi. Nevertheless, Hanumanthu attains superhuman strength due to the gem when the rays of the Sun hit the latter, curing his wounds instantaneously. He further figures that the gem doesn't work in the absence of the Sun. He tries proving himself to be her saviour to Meenakshi but ends up in hilarious situations, prompting her to disbelieve him though Kashi discerns his newfound superpowers. Meenakshi confronts Gajapathi for being unjust to an aged farmer and compelling him to commit suicide. In response, Gajapathi challenges her to a wrestling match; Hanumanthu comes forward on her behalf and to everyone's surprise, he defeats Gajapathi with his gem and is thus declared as the new Polygar. However, he proposes breaking the custom and initiating democracy in the village, impressing Meenakshi. At this juncture, Michael and Siri arrive at Anjanadri under the pretext of corporate social responsibility.

It is revealed that Michael has discovered Hanumanthu's superpowers through a brief social media clip and desires to acquire them. Amidst a festivity, he fabricates a crane collapse and risks the life of a child to provoke Hanumanthu into using his powers but the latter manages to conceal the gem through a mask. Later, Hanumanthu realizes that Anjamma loves him unconditionally and has remained unmarried for his sake; repentant, he begins to be responsible and arranges for her wedding. While Hanumanthu identifies an imminent attempt on Meenakshi's life, Siri abruptly abducts him and commands him to disclose the origin of his superpowers as Michael watches on from his caravan through the cameras installed. He witnesses Hanumanthu utilizing the gem to attain the powers and break free from their custody. Hanumanthu rescues Meenakshi, revealing himself to be her saviour and also informs her about the gem and they unite, having confessed their feelings for each other. Hanumanthu heals Gajapathi and cautions him to stay away from Meenakshi while asking him to contest in the forthcoming elections and be a generous leader.

To uncover Michael's truth, Hanumanthu breaks into his caravan at midnight while Michael notifies Siri of his intentions to destroy Anjanadri and acquire the gem. When Siri refuses to cooperate, Michael asserts that it is for the greater good but Siri rightly argues that it is due to his obsession with the power. Frustrated, Michael sets the tent on fire and leaves Siri to die of a severe asthma attack and in the process, he reveals that he had killed his parents in a similar way. Departing from the tent, Michael discovers that Hanumanthu has infiltrated his camp and sends his goons after him but an elderly sage defeats them, having supernaturally transformed himself into Hanumanthu.

On Anjamma's wedding day, Michael interrupts the ceremony and claims that Hanumanthu has stolen his ancestral gem, demanding him to return it. Upon being compelled by Anjamma and the villagers, Hanumanthu hands over the gem to Michael but it turns out to be a fake one made of magnifying glass and burns one of Michael's eyes, exposing his lies. As Hanumanthu reveals the gem to the villagers, Michael instructs his men to murder him but Anjamma fights them off with Hanumanthu and is struck with a bullet in the process. Anjamma consequently succumbs to the wound. Frustrated with the gem's inability to rescue his sister, Hanumanthu throws it away before tearfully cremating her. Meanwhile, Michael dispatches drones into the village, releasing a toxic smoke that freezes the inhabitants; having survived his plot, Meenakshi rushes to Hanumanthu and urges him to rescue the villagers but he deems himself incapable of saving them. They are interrupted by the elderly sage, who reveals himself to the demon king Vibhishana. The latter motivates Hanumanthu to rescue the villagers and the gem from Michael, asserting that Lord Hanuman is always with him.

Hanumanthu takes the assistance of Gajapathi and his men, who have been provided with masks to protect themselves from the smoke by Siri, who is in turn revealed to have been saved by Hanumanthu. They combat Michael and his men despite the difficulties; ultimately, Hanumanthu destroys the drones and ends the smoke after Koti, a monkey, gets him the gem. However, Michael seizes Hanumanthu and tries to escape with the gem in his helicopter. Hanumanthu manages to free himself and explodes the helicopter, killing Michael but the gem gets destroyed and the blood drop permanently inculcates itself into Hanumanthu. Instantaneously, Lord Hanuman emerges from the Himalayas and appears before Hanumanthu while Vibhishana anticipates the surfacing of Asuras and a tremendous battle that would follow. He further declares that the time has come for Lord Hanuman to fulfill the oath he has made to Lord Rama.

Cast

• Teja Sajja as Hanumanthu / Hanu-Man, Anjamma's brother
• Amritha Aiyer as Dr. Meenakshi
• Varalaxmi Sarathkumar as Anjamma, Hanumanthu's elder sister
• Samuthirakani as Vibhishana, King of Lanka
• Vinay Rai as Michael / Mega Man
• Vennela Kishore as Sirivennela "Siri", Michael's friend
• Raj Deepak Shetty as Gajapathi
• Satya as Gunneswara Rao, a shopkeeper
• Getup Srinu as Kaasi
• Rohini Noni as Meenakshi's friend
• Rakesh Master as Puli Raju, Gajapathi's henchman
• Sunishith as himself (cameo)
• Ravi Teja as Koti, a monkey (voice-over)

Other websites

• HanuMan on IMDb
• Hanu-Man at Bollywood Hungama