Yeh Hanuman Thoda Differernt hai! review

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Hanuman Returns turns out to be a highly entertaining film, more than anybody else kids would agree to that. However the film also seems little overambitious and sets out to achieve too many things, writes Bikas Mishra

"Maruti thoda different hai" the expression of a curious classmate of the child Hanuman reincarnation holds equally true for the movie as well. Hanuman Returns, the latest offering from Percept Picture and Anurag Kashyap is actually quite different from every other animation mythology film that we've seen recently in India. Well apart from being everything else, this film is highly ambitious. However the question is, does the movie succeed in meeting the expectations that it raises?

It's apparent that the director's attempt is to situate the popular god in contemporary world, that's why the film talks about issues such as environmental pollution. Not only that, gods use terms such as "contract" and "duty" and also fly on a two-seater plane Garuda for inter-lok travels.

The dialogues of the film stand out for their wit. After exposing dark underbelly of the city and allegorical exploration of human mind, director Anurag Kashyap shows his lighter side in Hanuman. His Hanuman is a lively fun loving godlike child. Hanuman Returns derives the skeleton of the story from Hindu mythology of the monkey god and also adds a pinch of salt(-ed popcorn) of Bollywood (rather filmy) mythology. One character in the film is styled around Gabbar Singh of Sholay while some others remind one of the stars such as Rajnikant, Rajkumar and the Hollywood flick Matrix.

This way Hanuman turns out to be a highly entertaining film, more than anybody else kids would agree to that. However the film also seems little overambitious and sets out to achieve too many things.

It takes you to the mythology and tells the story of the battle between the gods and the demons, it also tries to contemporarize the gods (also humanize them in the process), it talks about relevant issues like pollution, celebrates cinema, entertains and educates.

But in its attempt to achieve all these goals it leaves behind several inconsistencies in the film. The story is supposed to be set in a contemporary world and Hanuman incarnates as a son of a village priest. But since the story is set in a village, talking about pollution seems a little incoherent. All the more so because it attains a kind of significance towards the end that appears to be overemphasized without establishment.

Nevertheless, Hanuman Returns is a significant step forward in Indian animation cinema. Animation has definitely improved from the earlier film. The film also seems to be the output of a thought process that at least enumerates the necessary ingredients of a successful and meaningful children-oriented mythology-based animation film. Hanuman Return has all the elements of a success story that will set the stage for an animated future of Indian toon films.

My rating: 2.5 stars