For some time now, buzz has been strong about a possible collaboration between filmmaker Prasanth Varma and Tamil star Karthi. However, fans may need to be patient, as this director-actor duo is not set to join forces just yet.

In an exclusive conversation with us, Varma confirms pitching a script to the Ponniyin Selvan actor, but also says that their busy schedules would make an immediate collaboration unlikely. Varma shares, “Karthi and I have met and discussed something, but nothing will happen immediately. I have two to three films in the pipeline and he, too, has a couple of projects. We might collaborate later.”

So, does he have a character in mind for Karthi? “We have already pitched a story to him and he has liked it. But he needs to wrap up his current commitments. We will figure out the dates then and see how things unfold,” says Varma.

On a separate note, after pulling off a hit, the Teja Sajja-starrer Hanuman, the filmmaker has announced its sequel, titled Jai Hanuman. “The film’s pre-production work has been underway for the last few months. I am just waiting to put it all together, and the announcement will be made next month,” he says.

The box-office performance of his Telugu superhero film Hanuman came as a surprise to many. Now, Prasanth Varma says he wants to expand the film’s universe by getting a few Bollywood actors on board besides Telugu actors. Having announced two films from the franchise already — Jai Hanuman and Adhira, the director recently announced one more film from the Hanuman universe — Simba — starring Moksh Nandamuri.

“I have met a few actors and exchanged ideas with them, but it will take time. Some actors from Bollywood will surely be a part of the Hanuman universe,” he says.

The director also confirms that Jai Hanuman, which was slated for a January 2025 release, has been pushed. “Had Hanuman made only Rs. 100 crore, we would have been finishing Jai Hanuman by now. But since the film earned way more than that (Rs. 350 crore worldwide), our responsibility has also increased,” says Varma.

Sharing an update on the film’s status, the director adds, “We are doing a lot of prep and have worked a lot on the script. We are making sure that whatever you’d expect Hanuman ji to do, we have that in the film. It has come out well, and the casting is almost done. For Hanuman, we shot the film first and the VFX were added later. But now, we are prepping for that beforehand, so the post-production shouldn’t take much time.”

Varma continues: “The shoot hasn’t started yet. Adhira will come before Jai Hanuman, and we are working on two other films. We are aiming to release two films every year.”

With its worldwide gross income breaching the Rs. 150 crore mark, Prasanth Varma’s mythological superhero film Hanuman (Telugu), starring Teja Sajja, Amritha Iyer and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, has proved to be a dark horse. The director, who mounted the production on a limited budget of R40 crores, vouches for the power of VFX when highlighting how technology enhanced it.

“We used VFX only when it was required to elevate the experience, because the focus was on evoking the right emotions. We planned the shoot such that the film appeared to be driven by VFX, even though that’s not the case,” says Varma, further addressing speculation on whether Chiranjeevi played a cameo as Hanuman in the movie.

“I couldn’t find the courage to ask Chiru sir to do so. Hence, I used VFX. I have modelled the eyes of Hanuman ji on Chiru sir’s face.”

Varma admits that he finds the reception to his film rather surreal. “Our initial opinion was that if we only recovered the money that was invested in the film, we’d have the chance to make one more film with that amount,” he laughs, and adds, “Now that the film has done well, we plan to make a Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe—one of our own desi superheroes; those deeply rooted in our culture.”

His next edition, he reveals, will be titled Jai Hanuman. “There will be interesting characters who will lead every story, including Indradev, and Parushuram ji. Each main character of Indian history and mythology [will be presented to] the current generation. In this universe, Hanuman is from Andhra Pradesh, and the other superheroes will be from places like Kerala, Meghalaya, and Kolkata. The idea is to bring different superheroes from different languages and places, and yet, it will be dubbed in Telugu.”

As many as 20 scripts, he shares, are currently being written for this endeavour. “As we want to showcase six superheroes in phase one, their stories are ready. They are part of a parallel universe called Akhanda Bharat. The stories for Jai Hanuman and two more films are ready. We can start three films at the same time, with three different directors and technicians. We want to give opportunity to new talent.”

Varma’s film managed to set the cash registers ringing, even though he claims he got less than a 10 per cent-share of seat allotment in theatres, given that the film clashed with Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Kaaram. “That was heart-breaking. But we were always confident about the film.”