Prasanth Varma shares how HanuMan’s crew remained ‘respectful’ and ‘responsible’ while shooting: ‘We didn’t even eat non-vegetarian food’

Filmmaker Prasanth Varma is currently reveling in the success of his latest film, HanuMan. In a recent interview, Varma discussed the challenges of creating a film centered around a religious figure in today’s political climate. Despite the potential risk of hurting religious sentiments, the director emphasised that they approached the project with both ‘respect’ and ‘responsibility’.

In a conversation with Galatta Plus, Varma addressed concerns about hurting religious sentiments. He said, “We were never afraid, but we were responsible. I am sure you are aware of the number of films Telugu cinema has made on gods. So, we grew up watching this. I think last couple of years this whole phenomena of hurting religious sentiments and all are happening. That could also be the ill intention of the filmmaker. It goes either ways. But when films like Annamayya and Ammoru were made…Telugu filmmakers have never shied away from showing gods in the most perfect way. I come from that background where I never thought I will hurt anybody’s feeling while representing god.”

Speaking about how he and his cast and crew remained respectful while shooting the film, Prasanth Varma said, “But if you look at it, whenever we make films on god, we will not even eat non-vegetarian food. We will follow few things and that is the kind of respect we have even while shooting. When we were shooting inside a temple, we didn’t have to tell anyone that you have to remove your footwear. If I have to be blunt here, if you look at the climax scene, hero gets hit and he flies into a temple. He will have slippers on before and after the temple scene but not when he is inside the temple. More than the continuity the sentiment is important here.”

Also read | HanuMan movie review: Teja Sajja film is the perfect family entertainer on Makar Sankranthi

Despite facing competition at the box office from Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Kaaram, HanuMan not only held its ground but surpassed the latter’s box office collection, raking in Rs 147.15 crore in India.