Hanuman Jayanti is a Hindu festival which celebrates the birth of Lord Hanuman - a Hindu deity and one of the protagonists of the ‘Ramayana’.
"संकट कटे मिटे सब पीरा। जो सुमिरै हनुमत बलबीरा।।"
Lord Hanuman is the ultimate epitome of devotion and divine strength. And on Hanuman Jayanti, his countless devotees come together to celebrate the indomitable spirit that he had. It's an immensely sacred festival where we chant hymns and recite the Hanuman Chalisa, and seek blesssings from him for our protection from all the evil power.
Quite interestingly, the significance of Lord Hanuman goes beyond the temples and the pages of ancient scriptures. The stories of the Ramayana have been depicted time and again on the screen (both big and small), making "Pawan Putra" a part of our popular culture. And over the years, several actors have played the deity on screen, winning hearts from far and wide.
Today, as we are celebrating Hanuman Jayanti, let's have a look at some of the best portrayals of Lord Hanuman on screen.
The list must begin with Dara Singh as his portrayal of Lord Hanuman is inarguably the most iconic! Primarily a wrestler, Singh first appeared as Hanuman in the 1976 film 'Bajrangbali', directed by Chandrakant, and received enormous acclaim. Later, during the late 80s, he reprised his role as Hanuman in Ramanand Sagar's television series 'Ramayan', and the rest is history! He became a household name across the country with his work.
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“Devotees of the real Hanuman would fall at my feet when I went out into the public. I protested very strongly against this deification. ‘Arrey, Bhai Hanuman nahin hoon," shared Singh in an interview.
(Credit: Goldmines Bollywood)
Later, the late actor played the role in 'Luv Kush' (the follow up to 'Ramayan') as well.
If we talk about the portrayals of a young Hanuman (Bal Hanuman) on the screen, Ishant Bhanushali would be the first name to come to our mind. As a child artist, he played Lord Hanuman in 'Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanumaan', winning lots of acclaim from far and wide. Later, he played the same role in the TV series 'Chakradhari Ajaya Krishna' as well.
(Credit: Shemaroo TV)
In his words, "The character of Hanuman is very close to my heart. People still recognize me as Lord Hanuman wherever I go and I am glad I got to play this role again."
It is worth noting that Nirbhay Wadhwan played the grown-up Hanuman in 'Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanumaan'.
The latest one in the list, Devdatta Nage played Lord Hanuman in Om Raut's 2023 mythological action film, 'Adipurush'. However, just like every other aspect of the film, Nage, too, received loads of criticism for his role. Especially, his lines ("Kapda tere baap ka, aag tere baap ki, tel tere baap ka, jalegi bhi teri baap ki"), written by Manoj Muntashir, were strongly criticized for being derogatory and offensive.
Devdatta Nage as Hanuman in Adipurush
Speaking about playing Lord Hanuman, the Marathi actor had shared in an interview, "I am happy to to be playing Lord Hanuman on screen. I feel that I have a special connect with Maruti Raya. The first gym where I started working out at the age of 17 was named Hanuman Vyayam Shala. I have done my role with a lot of devotion. There are obviously great action sequences in the film that I thoroughly enjoyed doing.”
Besides these actors, the list also includes Danish Akhtar Saifi, Raj Mange, Ekagra Dwivedi, Raj Premi, and Vindu Dara Singh. If reports are to be believed, Sunny Deol will next be seen as Lord Hanuman in Nitesh Tiwari's 'Ramayana' trilogy.
