Hanu-Man (2024): Starring Teja Sajja as Hanumanthu!There are many superheroes, but the divine rules! A lean and lanky young villager named Hanumanthu (Teja Sajja) acquires the divine superpowers of Lord Bajrang Bali a.k.a Hanuman with the help of a gem that he found under the sea. The magical gem had the blood of Lord Hanuman. On the other hand, a tyrant named Michael (Vinay Rai) becomes Mega Man with the aid of his scientist assistant. Mega Man is after the divine superpowers that Hanumanthu possesses. He comes to know that Hanumanthu is just an ordinary guy who actually acquires his superpowers from the gem. It’s now up to Hanumanthu to not only win the love of his life Meenakshi (Amritha Aiyer) but also save mankind from the outbreak of the technology-powered Mega Man.Witness The Legend Of Hanu-Man: Starring Teja Sajja!Written and directed by Prasanth Varma, Hanu-Man is a Telugu-language superhero action film that was released in theaters on January 12, 2024. It stars Teja Sajja as the titular lead opposite Vinay Rai as the antagonist.Hanu-Man Official Trailer (Telugu):The Good:Hanu-Man has some exciting action scenes! Being a professional wrestler, I enjoyed the wrestling scenes of the lean Teja Sajja with the well-built village head (Raj Deepak Shetty) and his gang of bulky wrestlers. Then there was comedian Satya as a “not-so-good looking” shopkeeper with his comical punches who was also trying to win over the woman whom Hanumanthu loved. Amritha Aiyer looked beautiful as well as convincing as Dr. Meenakshi, Hanumanthu’s love interest. In fact, she had a major role to play throughout the movie. Also, Ravi Teja’s voice-over for a tree-dwelling monkey echoed throughout the movie and was indeed hilarious.The initial parts of the screenplay were so boring that I wondered why I was sitting in the theater hall and wasting my time. But then the screenplay picked up pace and moved towards action. There are numerous fight sequences of Teja Sajja with masked forest dwellers who were trying to harm his love interest.Amritha Aiyer as Dr. Meenakshi in Hanu-Man (2024)Some other characters added to the thrill. I was really astonished when a mysterious sage revealed himself as Vibhishan to Hanumanthu. Vibhishan was the King of Lanka, Ravan’s immortal younger brother who has been residing on earth for ages. And the climax took it all! Lord Hanuman himself appeared in front of Hanumanthu to guide him in conquering all evil forces on this planet. You won’t believe the kind of applause the climax scene received! I thought the entire hall would burst from that clapping and cheering from the audience.Hanu-Man Official Trailer (Hindi dubbed):The Bad:Vinay Rai as Michael a.k.a. supervillain Mega Man in Hanu-Man (2024)Hanu-Man happens to be the first superhero film in Telugu cinema. The beginning of the screenplay adds some thrill with the introduction of the villainous Mega Man who actually wanted to be a superhero during his childhood but ended up becoming a supervillain after committing murders in the name of “saving the world”. After that, the story turns a bit boring as it moves to a fictional village where we see Teja Sajja as Hanumanthu desperate in trying to win the attention of the woman he loves. The fact is, Teja Sajja lacks an appeal. He doesn’t look like a heroic character at all! He appears like an ordinary next-door guy who also suffers from malnourishment. God only knows what made the filmmakers select an underweight guy like him for a superhero role. Perhaps they wanted to show what an ordinary lean young man is capable of doing like Prince Adam does as He-Man! But still, I think, any other actor with a better physique in the character of Hanumanthu could have done better. Astonishingly, Vinay Rai as the supervillain Mega Man looked far better than Teja Sajja.When you make a superhero movie, you expect marvelous cinematography. I think the cinematography and visuals in Hanu-Man could have been better. Disappointingly, several fight sequences were shot in the dark which made them unclear. Still, many other sequences that were shot in daylight were ultra-thrilling. However, I do believe that the film’s editing could have been done better to sharpen some cheesy moments that bored us.JAI BAJRANG BALI!A glimpse of the fictitious village Anjanadri shown in Hanu-Man (2024)The Verdict:Wait a minute! This is no Spider-Man movie. At the climax of Hanu-Man, you will come to know what a masterpiece this film actually is! In the end, Lord Hanuman breaks his meditative state and appears to fulfill the promise he had given to Lord Ram, to protect the good and destroy the evil. The visuals and background music of that scene stole the show! Now, we are eagerly awaiting the 2025 sequel “Jai Hanuman” to experience what’s coming next! Acting – 7/10 Cinematography/Visual Effects – 8/10 Plot/Screenplay – 8.5/10 Setting/Theme – 9.5/10 Watchability – 8.5/10 Rewatchability – 8/10