ABSTRACT
Hanuman, India’s first major commercial animated feature film, 1 was released by Percept Pictures in 2005. This Hindi film narrates the life story of Hanuman, the widely revered Hindu monkey-god (he is a vanar, an ape-like humanoid). Hanuman is the son of the wind-god, Vayu, which accounts for his supernatural abilities— he can fly faster than the wind, change shapes, vary his size, is immortal, and has enormous strength. The famous devotee of Rama is a central character of the Indian epic Ramayana in which he acts as an emissary between Rama and Sita, and plays a crucial role in the war against the demon king Ravana. A vast number of Hindu temples and shrines are dedicated to this highly popular god, and in the last couple of decades, many monumental icons of the protean god have been erected in different parts of India.
