Arguably India’s greatest and first indigenous superhero that captured the imagination of millions growing up in the late 90s – Shaktimaan is gearing up for a comeback. Sony Pictures International Productions on Thursday announced the project through a teaser and hinted at a trilogy for the 70 mm screen.
Sony Pictures India tweeted, “After the super success of our many superhero films in India and all over the globe, it’s time for our desi Superhero!” whilst tagging the one and only Mukesh Khanna who had conceptualized and played the role of Shaktimaan and his alter ego “Pandit Gangadhar Vidhyadhar Mayadhar Omkarnath Shastriji”, in his superhit Doordarshan TV serial.
The production house further added, “Sony Pictures International Productions is set to bring ‘Shaktimaan’ to the big screen, and will recreate the magic of the iconic superhero, to be headlined by one of India’s superstars.
Reportedly Sony India will join hands with Brewing Thoughts Private Limited and Mukesh Khanna’s Bheeshm International to recreate the magic in the form of a trilogy, to be headlined by one of India’s major superstars – which is yet to be announced.
SHAKTIMAAN | MOVIE ANNOUNCEMENT | PEOPLE’S SUPERHERO
Can it be a beginning of the Indian version of MCU?
While the world has hitched its wagons behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC for their fill of comic book superhero movies, Bollywood has been insipid when it has come to take on the genre.
With mediocre movies like Flying Jatt and Krrish in the kitty, it is indeed a welcome change that a big production house is betting on India’s superhero.
It is imperative to note that Sony recently in collaboration with MCU released Spider-Man: No way home. The movie has been an out-and-out blockbuster hit, on the verge of displacing Avatar in the domestic box office collection. Thus, the studio is red-hot at the moment and looking to cash in on the success.
Read More: Indian Comic Industries was a booming industry till 2000. So, what led to its collapse?
Shaktimaan and his Indic roots
The original Shaktimaan TV series started airing in 1997 and aired for eight straight years on DD National, raking massive TRPs and making the actors a household name.
Shaktimaan has the required source material and if the creators can manage to whip out a tight script with international quality visual effects, it could be the beginning of an interesting phase in the Indian movie industry.
Yoga and Sanatan Dharma – a central theme in Shaktimaan
Shaktimaan was depicted as a human who has attained superhuman powers through meditation, Yoga, and five elements of nature viz. Space, Earth, Air, Fire, Water. With the clamour surrounding Yoga and the secular lobby trying to distance the practice from Sanatan Dharma, Shaktimaan may come as a rude shocker.
The initiation or in more colloquial terms, the origin story of Shaktimaan revolves around a storyline wherein his training Gangadhar performs a ritual of death in order to get total control over his powers by entering the holy fire and immersing his physical body in it. With such strong Indic roots, the series may already be setting the posteriors of the left-liberals on fire.
Some have already started cancelling the movie as Mukesh Khanna, the creator and producer of the original TV series toes a different political line to those sitting on the left end of the spectrum.
One aggrieved left-liberal tweeted, “Frankly, I am not excited about the news of #Shaktimaan movie! Firstly, it is not original but a copy of Superman. Secondly, Mukesh Khanna’s problematic views and public outbursts in recent years have made me hate him. Also, we have our own OG Superhero in #MinnalMurali”
Frankly, I am not excited about the news of #Shaktimaan movie! Firstly, it is not original but a copy of Superman. Seconly, Mukesh Khanna's problematic views and public outbursts in recent years have made me hate him. Also, we have our own OG Superhero in #MinnalMurali
— Agnivo Niyogi (অগ্নিভ নিয়োগী) (@Aagan86) February 11, 2022
Barring the few lunatics of the woke lobby, the general response to the announcement has been positive and overwhelming. The ball is now in the creators court to churn up the magic of Shaktimaan and show the real power of an Indic superhero.
