There have been recent reports that Prasanth Varma has been auditioning a big star for HanuMan’s sequel, Jai Hanuman. While it is expected that Ranveer Singh would lead Jai Hanuman, it is not reportedly true. However, Ranveer is in talks with him for a big-budget entertainer. While we await for an official confirmation, do you know that ‘HanuMan’ was Prasanth Varma’s fourth directrial and his debut film was ‘Awe’, which got a National Award?
Well, the film director and screenwriter, who works primarily in Telugu cinema, has previously directed Awe (2018), Zombie Reddy (2021) and Hanu-Man (2024). His debut film Awe bagged the National film awards for Best Special Effects, and Best Make-up.
Prasanth Varma kicked off his career in 2011 by helming a short film Deenamma Jeevitham. He then directed several ad films and a few short films, including A Silent Melody (2014) and Dialogue in the Dark (2017). In 2015, he ended up directing a five-episode web series, Not Out, which featured Brian Lara, and premiered on YuppTV.
In 2018, he made his debut in feature films after he presented the storyline of Awe to actor Nani, and got the production sorted through Wall Poster Cinema alongside Prashanti Tipirneni. Released in 2018, Awe, which marked his directorial debut, garnered acclaim for showcasing psychological and social issues, including child abuse, and drug abuse. His next release was Kalki (2019), starring Rajasekhar and produced by C. Kalyan. The original story was initially created as a web series, but Prasanth adapted the screenplay into a feature film.
His third release was Zombie Reddy (2021), which was originally scheduled for 2020. However, it was delayed due to the COVID-19 lockdown in India. Touted to be the first zombie film in Telugu, the film performed well at the box office.
In May 2021, he announced his next film HanuMan, which was marketed as the first Telugu Superhero film. Starring Teja Sajja as Hanumanthu and Amritha Aiyer as Meenakshi, the film was released in January 2024, coinciding with Sankranti. It became the first instalment of the Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe (PVCU), and inspired by Indian mythology. The film was loved by the audience and the critics for its direction, screenwriting, performances, VFX, production design and action sequences.
Made on a budget of ₹40 crore, the superhero film Hanuman minted ₹250 crore at the global box office. It also turned out to be the highest-grossing Telugu film of 2024 and the top-grossing Telugu film of the same year.
