Interesting.. but lacks the punch. Review on Hanuman

For a full length animation Indian movie, ''Hanuman'' may be a first, but if you look at the fact that it is Indian animators who have added life to Hollywood movies like ''Sindbad - Beyond the Veil of Mists'' (Pentamedia Graphics), we still need to walk a long path to reach the top.

The story narrates Hindu mythology from Hanuman's point of view (voiced by Mukesh Khanna - Shaktimaan), so don't expect to watch an animated version of Ramanand Sagar's TV epic Ramayan. This actually proves to be a disadvantage as the storyline becomes jerky with characters (like Ram n Lakshman) coming in and moving out at odd intervals. The storyline focuses initially on Hanuman's life as a child and does a pretty good job, though I doubt His life would have just had one incident worth animating - trying to pluck the sun, thinking it was a mango.

Post interval, the movie moves on to the battle at Lanka and ends with Ram's victory over Ravan. I am sure there is more to Hanuman than just Ramayan, though I believe the director placed the full stop with Ramayan's end in the interest of making the movie crisp and short. (A friend of mine jokingly remarked that they were planning the rest of Hanuman's tales, like Hanuman residing in Arjuna's flag during Mahabharat, in Hanuman - Pt. II)

Inspite of not being swept away by the movie, there were some things I learnt, like Hanuman having a son and Hanuman's meeting with Ram when both of them were kids. (About the latter, I am not convinced as some parts of the story are inconsistent with mythology, like the killing of Mahiravan - the king of Patala)

Go to the movie, only if your kids/younger siblings pester you and ask you to accompany them to Hanuman. If you want to know about Hanuman and his life, you are better off watching Sanjay Khan's ''Jai Hanuman''.