REVIEW: Return of Hanuman

What the film is all about:

Lord Hanuman requests Lord Brahma that he wants to be born on earth and have fun like the kids here. His request is granted and Hanuman is born as a pundit's son. His parents call him Maruti, realising that he is not an ordinary child, but an avatar. Maruti has an insatiable appetite and a penchant for falling into trouble even as he has extraordinary powers. His friends are Munni, Minkoo and Daddu. He fights the villains and saves humankind.

What we liked it:

The language is very colloquial with many English words thrown in between – just perfect for today's children. There's quite a bit of humour that promises to keep you laughing all through. The story is about what's happening now instead of something that probably occurred centuries ago or in a different era. The child Maruti looks gorgeous.

What we didn't like:

It seems the trend of spoofing continues in this film. What with the villain's dialogue from Sholay in Amjad Khan's voice that later changes to Raj Kumar's and on to yet another yesteryear actor. Then there is the monkey friend who speaks like Shah Rukh Khan and has six-pack abs too. The film seems to be crammed with many ideas taking off in different directions. It appears that the filmmaker was having a lot of ideas and was worried whether he would have the opportunity to use any of them in another movie. There is mythology, earthlings, modern science, aliens, other planets, regular villains, super villains such as Rahu and Ketu, usage of computers in Brahmaloka, a tiny lesson (that was lost somewhere) on plastics ruining the environment and what not, all packed together in a couple of hours. Some of the jokes like the one with Narada eavesdropping at Lord Indra’s bedroom door when the latter is with Menaka and Lord Hanuman blackmailing him about it, were in bad taste. The quality of animation could have been much better.

Verdict:
You can take your kids. We are sure they will have fun.

Rating: 2.5/5