The superhero universe: Is it time for Indian cinema to explore this genre? helobaba.com

The latest homegrown superhero film to become a blockbuster is HanuMan which is set to cross ₹100 crore at the box office. The first Telugu superhero film directed by Prasanth Varma has won the appreciation of the audience and critics alike and even after six days of release is running to packed theatres. While writing HanuMan, Varma and his team of writers had already created a universe of heroes related to one another akin to the Marvel and DC ones. But Varma was clear that all the other superhero films connected to the HanuMan universe will be made only if this film succeeds. And succeed it has. (Also read: HanuMan review: Teja Sajja’s superhero film kicks off Prasanth Varma’s cinematic universe)

Tracing Indian Superheroes onscreen

However, HanuMan is not the first superhero film to be made in India. In fact, the pioneering film in this genre would be Bollywood’s Mr India, starring Sridevi and Anil Kapoor, directed by Shekhar Kapur. Considered a pathbreaking sci-fi film of its times, the movie sees a common man get an invisibility cloak (Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak came many years later) and goes on to save the day. Loved by children and adults alike, this movie is watched with much fanfare even today. Despite the fact that there were constant rumours about a sequel to this blockbuster, it has never been announced.

From Krrish to Minnal Murali

Cut to 2003 and we saw producer-director Rakesh Roshan make the sci-film Koi…Mil Gaya starring his son, Hrithik Roshan, and Jadoo, an extraterrestrial being. The success of the film spurred him to make Krrish in 2006 where we saw Hrithik turn superhero. And in 2013, the sequel to Krrish, Krrish 2 released. All the three films saw box office success but there was no cinematic universe that followed.

In south cinema, the superhero genre has been explored periodically (to disastrous results) but it’s only now become more appealing to the audience. In 2021, a Malayalam superhero film exploded on the OTT scene with everyone raving about it. Thanks to the Covid pandemic, Minnal Murali, written and directed by actor Basil Joseph and starring Tovino Thomas, released directly on Netflix in December 2021. It went on to become the third Indian film in Netflix’s Global Top 10 list of non-English Movies. The success of this Malayalam superhero film across all languages and around the globe set a new benchmark in Indian cinema. Then in 2023, Tamil superhero film Maaveeran starring Sivakarthikeyan and directed by Madonne Ashwin stunned the audiences and made nearly ₹ 100 crore at the box office. Today, it is the Telugu superhero HanuMan which is making waves and the reality of creating superhero universes is now taking shape in Indian cinema.

Ask Minnal Murali director Basil Joseph whether there is space in Indian cinema for superhero films and superhero universes like in Marvel and DC and he replies with a resounding yes but with a caveat. “Certainly, there’s room for such universes. It’s crucial for them to be truly original, given the oversaturation of the genre in the West. Creating a compelling and successful Indian superhero amid this saturation, with the Indian audience already exposed to various western superhero franchises in films, series, or games, poses a significant challenge,” explains the Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey star.

The key aspects to an Indian Superhero Universe

In 2023, Telugu star Rana Daggubati, who has a passion for superheroes, created a buzz when he and his company, Spirit Media, unveiled numerous projects at Comic-Con in San Diego. In fact, Spirit Media has joined hands with Minnal Murali producer Sophia Paul to present superhero Murali in a comic book avatar. Talking about superheroes, Rana had said earlier, “Being a superhero is an experience that you give to the audience. The reason why the Hulk, Thanos and all are big characters is because once you go to theatres, you enter that world created by the filmmakers.”

What is clearly key in creating a successful Indian superhero universe is the need for original, authentic storytelling, which the Indian audience can relate to, along with good VFX and technical aspects. Given the advances in technology and the increasing budget of films, the quality of cinema has tremendously improved in India. It is the cinematic experience that a director creates through his vision and visuals which will hold the audience’s attention. The underdog-turned-superhero story is always fascinating and as a genre in cinema, will never see audience fatigue.

Rajeev Ranjan, Co-Founder and COO, Spirit Media, states that the superhero genre is going to scale up soon in India. “Story universe is something Indians are very familiar with owing to our culture and the stories we grow with. The Ramayan and Mahabharat are also interconnected in many ways. We have also seen the YRF spy universe shape up in some ways, the Rohit Shetty Cop Universe and now, the Lokesh Kanagaraj universe in the Tamil industry. So yes, I fully expect this to scale up more in the superhero genre of movies too but it will have to be done by the same creator and with many standalone successful characters coming together. This is the same way Avengers shaped up after many standalone superhero films even though they came from the same comic book universe world,” explains Ranjan.

With the Indian film industry keenly looking at creating cinematic universes, it looks like superhero films and their universe is what filmmakers here are now looking to explore.

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