Mumbai: The first Indian superhero Shaktimaan is all set to hit big screens. Sony Pictures India announced on 10th February 2022 that it will bring the iconic superhero on big screens soon. The first native superhero experienced by the generations of the 80s and especially the 90s has again become a talk of the town with an attractive teaser launched by Sony Pictures India on Thursday.
Sony Pictures India tweeted today, “After the super success of our many superhero films in India and all over the globe, it’s time for our desi Superhero!” Tagged in the tweet are many others along with none other than Mukesh Khanna who had conceptualized and played the role of Shaktimaan in his superhit Doordarshan TV serial.
Sony Pictures India has further posted on its Twitter handle “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.”
Sony Pictures India has also shared a teaser of the upcoming trilogy on youtube. The teaser opens up with the visuals of a meteorite in space, revolving randomly and probably headed to hit the artificial satellite orbiting the earth. It further goes on to depict the aerial view of the Colaba area of Mumbai covering the Gateway of India and The Taj Hotel. It also shows the stills of marine drive and the BSE building in Mumbai. This is followed by the quote, “As the darkness and evil prevail over humanity, it’s time for him to return.” While it has been reported that the role of Shaktimaan will be played by a top film star, the identity of the actor has not been revealed by the company.
Film critic Taran Adarsh revealed that it will be a trilogy, meaning there will be three Shaktimaan movies in a series. He also said that one of India’s major superstars will enact the title role.
Sony Pictures International Productions has acquired the film adaptation rights of the TV serial and has partnered with Brewing Thoughts Private Limited and Mukesh Khanna’s Bheeshm International to produce the trilogy. The studio will bring its expertise from its headquarters in Los Angeles to use the latest film technology in the production and post-production of the movie.
Shaktimaan as made by Mukesh Khanna was a superhero with his altar ego Pandit Gangadhar Vidyadhar Mayadhar Omkarnath Shastri working as a photographer assisting a journalist Geeta Vishwas in a newspaper called ‘Aaj Ki Aawaz’. The teaser also shows a news reporter’s camera, the iconic Shaktimaan suite, and the thick glassed spectacles of none other than Pandit Gangadhar.
Shaktimaan was first aired on Doordarshan as a TV serial from 13th September 1997 to 27th March 2005. 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. Other key characters in the series were journalist Geeta Vishwas and the antagonist Tamraj Kilvish who is supposed to be the living embodiment of the evil and dark forces of the world.
Mukesh Khanna had become popular in the 80s and 90s when he had played the role of Bheeshma in the iconic Doordarshan TV serial Mahabharat by BR Chopra. This role played by him was so popular that he went on to name his production house Bheeshma International. The same company produced the TV serial Shaktimaan. In this serial, Shaktimaan is shown as the rebirth of Shri Satya who was part of the Suryanshi Sect during the Mahabharata era 5,000 years ago.
Mukesh Khanna had joined the BJP in 1998. Shaktimaan was also in the middle of the controversy after a few incidents were reported according to which children were injured while imitating their favourite character Shaktimaan. Taking cognizance of this, Mukesh Khanna had made several changes in his show besides publicly apologizing for the injured children.