Animation

Director: Anurag Kashyap

Anurag Kashyap saves the day. Or rather, the year, from ending on a dismal note. Hanuman Returns is the way we want our animation movies to be heading: filled with zippy dialogue, funny characters, and engaging situations, rather than the standard preaching-from-the- pulpit monstrosities we have been subjected to, all these years.

The first Hanuman was wonderful. It had a great hero, foot-tapping music, and the quality of animation was high: for the first time, it looked as if we could put the familiar dead stick-like characters, and turn them into life-like approximations.

Funnily, Hanuman Returns, the sequel from the same production house , doesn't have the same superior animated quality. What it does have in abundance is superb lines, and fun, quirky characters, which make the film come alive.

Hanuman sees the earth groaning under the weight of ancient and contemporary paapis (sinners). Bad guys Shukracharya and Rahu and Ketu threaten to gobble the world, and create pralay (doomsday). In a sharp move, D Day is also the result of humans who don't care for the earth and pollute it. So he comes to earth to deal with bullies who make life miserable for little boys in Bajrangpuram (nice touch). As well as the heavenly baddies, all of whom are sent packing. Like all beloved superheroes, he saves the world while he is at it. And leaves with a strong message: be green, stay green.

Some of our favourite lines: “tumhari poonch detachable nahin hai” (this to Hanuman as he is heading off to this duniya as a little boy called Maruti); “main pandit hoon, politician nahin” (this from Narad, who zips around the skies in a smart roadster, to the monkey god), and a Gabbar-like villain with the accents of Sanjiv Kumar's thakur, who yells at his cohorts: mujhe woh bachcha chahiye, zinda ya murda!

... contd.