Prasanth Varma’s Hanu Man, which heavily draws inspiration from Indian mythology, presents a superhero fantasy centering around a common villager named Hanumanthu. The village lad has been madly in love with a girl, Meenakshi, since childhood, but Meenakshi left the village to study medicine. However, after Meenakshi returns to Anjanadri, the young and educated woman cannot stand the corruption and bigotry prevailing in the land and, therefore, raises her voice against the powerholders. Meenakshi upsets the wrong people, which puts her life in danger. It is when Hanumanthu intervenes and tries to defend the love of his life and, in the process, almost loses his life. The life-threatening incident helps Hanumanthu locate a lost mythological stone, or “Rudra Mani,” which gives him immense power to fight against evil. Hanu Man is the story of Hanumanthu, who, against all odds, tries to defend the people of Anjanadri from the foreign powers, but there is a catch.
Spoiler Alert
How Did Hanumanthu Become a Superhero?
Gajapathi, the villager’s poligar or self-proclaimed chief, had levied heavy taxes on the innocent villagers through force and terror. Meenakshi, the daughter of the village’s headmaster, wanted to build a hospital in the village, but after she raised her voice against Gajapathi, his men robbed the entire village, forcing some farmers to commit suicide. In the meantime, Gajapathi sent some masked assassins after Meenakshi to curb the rebellion. Gajapathi’s goons attacked Meenakshi in the middle of the forest while she was traveling on a bus. It was when Hanumanthu heard her cries and quickly picked up his slingshot to help Meenakshi escape the assassins. However, the bandits cornered Hanumanthu and pushed him off the cliff with the motive of finishing the young hero once and for all. But Hanumanthu didn’t die.
During the fight, Hanumanthu found Meenakshi’s golden chain, and when he fell into the river, he tried to protect the ornament at all costs. The entire scene draws a parallel with Hindu mythology, where Lord Hanuman protected Devi Sita with his life and brought back her ornaments to Lord Ram so as to assure the God of his wife’s safety. Hanumanthu, too, showed the same valor and loyalty, which was why “Rudra Mani,” made from Lord Hanuman’s blood, appeared before him and transformed him into a superhero.
Rudra Mani, being a part of Lord Hanuman himself, drew its powers from the sun, and therefore, anyone who looked at the sun’s rays through the Mani would get unimaginable powers. The power of the Mani not only healed Hanumanthu’s wounds but also gave him super strength, just like Lord Hanuman. However, there was a catch. The powers weren’t permanent. It only stayed until sunset, and Hanumanthu had to wait till the next sunrise to become a superhero once again. In short, Hanumanthu was most vulnerable in the absence of the sun’s rays. But even though Hanumanthu knew the limitations of his powers, he used them for the righteous cause and got rid of Gajapathi so that the villagers could elect a leader for the village.
Why did Michael want the Mani?
Michael, or the self-proclaimed superhero, was an insecure narcissist with a dark childhood who wanted to become just like his role models. I suppose it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Michael was a cheap version of DC’s Batman, who didn’t have any inherent superpowers but wanted to become a superhero to save people. In Michael’s case, he was obsessed with superheroes and, therefore, started saving people because that’s what these superhumans do. But what Michael lacked were some sensibilities. He was ready to kill the criminals to stop the crime. He was even ready to sacrifice the lives of innocent villagers so as to save the entire universe. And even though Michael convinced himself that he was a superhero, his actions spoke otherwise. Anyone questioning Michael’s methods or his superheroism had to pay with their life, and that’s why I don’t want to comment anything on his superhero suit.
Michael’s psychotic behavior was very much present in his childhood, when he locked his parents inside during a fire in the house. Perhaps, after his parents’ deaths, Michael inherited a lot of money, just like our very own Bruce Wayne, and used his inheritance to build a superhero suit for himself. His assistant, comically named Siri Vennela, had designed a Megaman suit for his master so as to give Michael a superhero identity. Additionally, Siri had been working on a powerful MFG 42 drug that could freeze people’s muscles for the time being. However, even with all these hi-tech weapons at his disposal, Michael wasn’t happy, as he wanted real superpowers, just like Superman. Therefore, when he witnessed Hanumanthu’s train stunt, he quickly gathered all his forces and arrived at Anjanadri to steal the source of Hanumanthu’s powers.
What Happens To The Rudra Mani?
Michael wanted the Mani at all costs, and he was ready to wipe out the entire village to get the stone. He even fired a shot at Hanumanthu during his sister Anjamma’s wedding, which took Anjamma’s life. Hanumanthu blamed himself and the Mani for his sister’s death and, therefore, threw the Mani towards the village from high ground, after which Michael sprayed tons of MFG 42 all over the village so as to find the Mani without any hindrance. In the meantime, the sage, or Vibhishana, in disguise, approached Hanumanthu and made him realize the responsibility of such godly powers. Hanumanthu quickly ran towards the village for a final showdown between the superhero and the supervillain, where Koti, the monkey, handed over the Mani to Hanumanthu so that he could defeat the evil.
In the end, Michael finally stole the Mani from Hanumanthu and called in a chopper to escape the village. Hanumanthu, however, still had some powers left, which he used to stop Michael from flying away. At the end of Hanu Man, Hanumanthu wielded Lord Hanuman’s gada (mace) and jumped on the chopper to destroy the transport completely. The blast not only killed Michael but also broke the Mani into pieces, therefore bringing doom to the human world.
What to Expect Next?
As King Vibhishana had mentioned earlier, the Rudra Mani acted as a barrier that protected the human world from the fury of the demons. However, as soon as the Mani was destroyed, the film presented a series of sequences where the demons unleashed their armies in order to take over the human world. At this point, Vibhishana knew that Hanumanthu wouldn’t stand a chance against the catastrophe alone, which was why he woke his old friend Lord Hanuman and requested that he break his deep meditation. In Hindu mythology, Lord Ram granted immortality to his most loyal friend, which was the reason why Lord Hanuman still lives in the human world and will continue to do so until the end of the universe.
After the Rudra Mani broke into pieces, the drop of Lord Hanuman’s blood became a part of Hanumanthu himself, therefore granting him permanent powers. At this point, Hanumanthu didn’t only have super speed and super strength; he could also fly like mainstream superheroes. And yes, he also wears a cape like Superman. However, Hanumanthu would still be the most vulnerable at night as the sun will remain the main source of his powers, and therefore he might have to take the help of some sort of superhero suit to fight crime at night. It is possible that Siri Vennela will help the village lad find a better-fitting suit for himself so that Hanumanthu won’t have to worry about waiting for sunlight anymore.
During Hanu Man’s ending, Lord Hanuman appears in front of Hanumanthu, perhaps to prepare the new superhero for the impending war between humans and demons. Vibhishana’s closing dialogue suggests that Lord Hanuman will destroy all demons who threaten the very existence of humanity and, therefore, fulfill the promise that he had made to Lord Ram. In the absence of God himself, it will be Lord Hanuman and Hanumanthu’s duty to keep the demon at bay, and therefore, we can expect a fierce battle between good and evil in the upcoming Prasanth Varma film, Jai Hanuman.
