Return of Mr. Superman is one of two 1960 Indian movies
based on the superhero, the other simply titled Superman. Despite the same
actor playing Superman in each film, they were both completely separate
tellings of the Superman saga.
Return of Mr. Superman begins with a farmer who witnesses
the crash of a strange aircraft. Out crawls a little boy who the farmer and his
wife adopt as their own. The boy grows up to become a newspaper reporter in the
city and, unbeknownst to his co-workers, doubles as the flying hero when a
group of smugglers arrive.
Jairaj plays Superman and he does well enough, particularly
when playing his mortal Kent Clark-like character. He was a leading man in the
1930s and 40s but looked young enough still to be playing the lead well into
the 1960s. His superhero costume is made up of slacks, a heavy sweatshirt, a
skull cap and goggles, looking more like someone getting ready for a mustard
gas attack.
The Lois Lane character, here named Usha, is portrayed by
Sheila Ramani. Ramani had a promising start in Hindi films in the mid 50s
playing the leading lady in Taxi Driver and NAUKARI (both 1954), before her
slide down into B movies with films like Mumtaz Mahal and Jungle King.
Return of Mr. Superman is more a curiosity than a real
entertainer. The plot is non-existent and the fight scenes are so poorly done
as to be almost childish. Even the musical numbers are unmemorable. Special
effects are rather crude.
No comments:
Post a Comment