Indian superhero films have been few and far between. If Superman (1980), Mr India (1987), Bhavesh Joshi Superhero (2018), Minnal Murali (2021) and Brahmastra (2022) are the films to pop into your mind at the mention of the genre, most other films failed to make a mark. Prasanth Varma wants to change that with the movies he has lined up for the Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe (PVCU).

Each film is based on a God from Indian mythology. The 2024 Teja Sajja-starrer HanuMan, which earned ₹295 crore worldwide, according to Sacnilk.com, was just the beginning. Since then, the filmmaker has announced four more films in the PVCU - the sequel Jai Hanuman, Adhira with Dasari Kalyan, a yet-to-be-titled film with Mokshagna Teja and Mahakali - the first female superhero to join the universe. And right on time for Dussehra!

“People told me that superhero films don’t work in India, that they’re not bankable,” says Prasanth in an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times. “But I’ve wanted to do superhero films all my life because I’ve probably seen all the movies in the genre. (laughs) I didn’t even like Batman before Christopher Nolan took over, I thought he was boring. When it was time to write something of my own, I knew it couldn’t just be vigilante justice, there needed to be magic,” he explains.

‘My interest in Indian mythology helped’

Prasanth explains why he chose Indian mythology to base his superheroes on. “My interest in reading up Indian mythology pushed me to write these stories, to base my superheroes on Gods. Because that's something unique to us. If you have seen my first three films (Awe!, Kalki, Zombie Reddy), I’d never liked to repeat myself. But now that I’m stuck doing this, I might as well explore with the sub-genres of these stories,” he says.

Ask him to explain further, and he obliges, “HanuMan had a Disney-like feel, but the other films in PVCU will not be in a similar vein. It’s also not always going to be the story of an underdog.” Another way Prasanth Varma wants to ensure he doesn’t repeat himself is by writing films for PVCU but not directing them. “I didn’t want to direct anything other than HanuMan. But I feel a responsibility towards giving a good film to the audience with Jai Hanuman now,” he adds.

‘Cracking Adhira’s story was a challenge’

There is another film Prasanth is directing, other than Jai Hanuman. Balakrishna’s son Mokshagna’s debut. “I had no other choice due to the kind of relationship I have with Balakrishna garu. It’s more a personal decision than a professional one. I’m also okay with doing it because the story is exciting,” he says. But what God is the film based on, I ask, and he clams up. “You'll know that when we reveal the film's title. Right now, Moksha is prepping for the role, and we’re in pre-production,” he says.

Adhira’s director has not been announced, while Puja Aparna Kolluru will direct Mahakali. “People talk like Adhira was put on hold, but we’ve been working hard to crack its story all this time. It was the toughest to crack out of all the films in this universe. It also took a lot of pre-production work, but we’re ready now,” he says of the film based on Lord Indra. Slowly, Prasanth is ready to give over the reins of directing his superheroes to someone else and sticking just to writing them.

‘Want people to have a healthy discussion’

Ask Prasanth about life before HanuMan, and he almost says nostalgically, “I used to make whatever I wanted because no one had expectations of me beyond delivering something good. But now, with the kind of success HanuMan achieved, I know too many people will watch, and I want to ensure I stay socially responsible.” And that’s something he plans to uphold off-screen, too.

When asked what he means by that, he replies, “There are a lot of current issues that need to be addressed, and what better way than with a superhero film? By the time the end credits roll, I want people to have a healthy discussion about what they’ve seen…it's going to happen with Mahakali too. But I will do that while ensuring the films are entertaining and not preachy.”

‘Casting a big star isn’t challenging anymore’

The titular role of Mahakali hasn’t been cast yet, but what Prasanth knows is that he’ll not be ‘brown-facing (when light-skinned people wear darker makeup in an attempt to look dusky) anyone to fit the role’. “Casting a big star to play Mahakali is no longer challenging, but that’s not the point. When the film is being made to challenge beauty standards, I want to ensure we do our bit not to propagate it, too,” he explains.

But two big stars seem to have evaded Prasanth’s attempts to rope them in so far - Karthi and Ranveer Singh. While the former promised to give his script some serious thought at an event, the latter officially confirmed their film had been shelved. “Ranveer…we still talk to each other. It was just a difference of opinion between us, that’s all. So it’s okay, jathakalu kalavaledu (the stars didn’t align). We will work together someday,” he says hopefully.

For now, Prasanth is busy working on numerous films, both superhero and non-superhero. Most importantly, he says that the cast of Jai Hanuman is locked, “I have a couple of projects that’ll be announced soon that are not part of the PVCU. Right now, I’m focused on Moksha’s film. We’ll also announce the cast of Jai Hanuman soon.”

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