‘Hanu-Man’ is the first film from creative director Prashanth Varma’s cinematic universe. The film starring talented hero Teja Sajja as the protagonist is being produced by K Niranjan Reddy on Primeshow Entertainment and is presented by Mrs. Chaitanya. The already released promotional content of the film has raised huge expectations. Director Prashant Varma shared special details of the film in a press conference ahead of the release of the film.
When is the release date of ‘Hanu-Man’?
VFX work is going on. They promised that it would be completed by the end of June. We hope to announce the release date in the first week of July after checking the output and when we think it is ready in terms of quality. VFX work is not in our hands. A single shot takes a lot of time to render. US and China renders are very time consuming. Expectations increased after the release of the teaser. We added some more to meet those expectations. If given time, the VFX work will come out very well.
After watching the teaser, the expectations on the trailer and the movie have increased. What kind of work are you doing for the trailer?
We cut the teaser and the trailer at the same time. The people I showed it to didn’t like the teaser. Loved the trailer. So,no worries. The trailer is even better. (laughs)
When this project was planned, did you think on such a large scale?
I didn’t expect such a range movie. We started making a good fun entertaining superhero movie. Slowly, depending on the response we got, we increased the scale depending on the market created for the film.
Have you added anything new after the teaser response?
We have added a character in terms of story. After watching the entire movie, I felt that 95 percent was reached. Adding a character felt like it would be 100 percent. After shooting and adding that character, it became 200 percent.
Did you initially plan to release it in so many languages?
At first we thought to release only in Telugu. After the announcement of the title, there was a good response from Hindi. After the release of the first look of Teja, there was a response from Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. The product we created was in demand. If they had not asked, we would have fixed only Telugu.
Should Ramayana be shown authentically? Or there is a debate whether it should be done experimentally like today’s superheroes and how Hanu-man will be?
There are definitely expectations when making movies like this. Presenting them is also a challenge. But we did not take the risk of modernizing Hanuman’s character. The story we tell takes place in the present. We have taken a key incident in the story of Hanuman. An incident happened in the story of Hanuman, so the story was built on the topic of what would happen if this happened. Most of the story is in current times. I showed Hanuman as how we know him since our childhood. We worked on the character sketch of Hanuman for almost a year.
How did you come up with the idea of doing a superhero story?
I am doing different genre films. Great directors have made many wonderful films in Telugu. I can’t do better than them. As part of the idea of creating a unique zone for myself, I focused on genres that have not been explored so far. In that order, I did the films Awe, Kalki and Zombie Reddy. When thinking about what genre to do next, I got this idea. I love superhero movies. I wanted to be a Spider-Man in the childbood but Spider did not bite me (laughs). A lot of people are like me. The superhero is a commercial genre in the international market. We started thinking why not try a superhero film.
Superhero films come as franchises. Does this film have that chance?
Every superhero film has a strong origin film. The character who became a superhero in the first movie had a strong impact on the audience. There is curiosity about what the character is going to do next after ending the evil. Teja’s role as Hanuman is impactful in this too. I am interested to see what he will do after the completion of the film. We are also creating comics. We have started work for this.
Was the character of Hanuman created first or Anjanadri?
First we created the character of Hanuman. This story needs a fictional world. Hanuman is the story that takes place in it. Anjanadri is a village on an island. Hanuman is said to have been born in Anjanadri so I took that name.
Do you think you are spending more than the market?
What can we say about the market for Hanuman? We can take it as far as we want. Many people are eagerly waiting to see the movie with his name. It is said that Hanuman does not know his strength. We didn’t know how far our film would reach. Even if we start this film small, it will slowly grow like Hanuman and has become big. We believe in Hanuman, the concept.
Why did you want to do this role with Teja?
This role requires an underdog. A common man is only interested in an underdog getting super hero powers. Teja’s image is perfect for this role. I thought it would be more interesting if he got powers. For this role, Teja did hundred percent justice. He got a special makeover for this.
Who else is in this movie along with Varalakshi Sarath Kumar?
Vinay Roy will be seen as a super villain. Also, Raj Deepak Shetty is playing a major role. Another big artist is also in the film. We will release the first look soon
Will your next film be with Balakrishna?
Can’t say next. Discussions have started. Balakrishna liked the idea very much. When he gives time then it starts.
About the movie Adheera?
It is in preproduction. It is also a superhero film. This is from the cinematic universe. There are some characters in Hanuman. It is very different. Like the Marvel series, everything is connected.
Are you giving your stories to people outside?
I wrote many stories while learning screenwriting. They were rejected saying that they are ahead of times. Now those stories are working. They are helping other filmmakers. We are running a company called Scriptsville. We are working on some stories.
Will Hanuman be released in foreign languages too?
It will be released simultaneously at the Pan-India level. Time is not enough for promotion when it comes to foreign languages. Rajamouli gave the same advice when asked. We will release it there after a month.
Did Rajamouli give any instructions regarding Hanuman?
After the release of the teaser, I made an appointment and met him. He gave some suggestions. It saved us a lot of time.
What are your birthday special plans?
I will announce Prashanth Varma Cinematic Universe (PVCU) on my birthday. We are focused on creating a big franchise in the next ten years. About eight superhero films will come. It is not that I will do everything myself. I will be inviting young talent. My idea is to run it like a Hollywood studio with a team of around 100 people. I have been working on this for the past few years.
