Celeb recommends: Minnal Murali villain Guru Somasundaram lists his favourite superhero movies on OTTs

Those who would have watched Minnal Murali, would have also drawn a comparison between Shibu and Magneto. So, it’s no wonder that the original X-Men trilogy does find itself in Guru’s favourite superhero movies. The trilogy, which kicked off in 2000 and included the supremely crafted X2, introduced the film audience to the characters of Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Ian McKellan) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). While the final instalment in the trilogy was a rather forgettable affair, the first two movies had equal amounts of action and entertainment. Add the first two films from the X-Men prequel trilogy to your watchlist, and this will keep you riveted.

It’s the film that got the juggernaut called Marvel Cinematic Universe rolling and there’s been no stopping since then. Even when Robert Downey Jr was roped into play the titular character Tony Stark in Jon Favreau’s slick superhero film, nobody predicted the heights at which the movie would propel the franchise. But such was the success of the movie, which made for a great superhero origin story – much like Minnal Murali.

An iconic supervillain – check, an endearing superhero – check. Shekhar Kapur’s superhero film Mr India is arguably the first Indian movie to take a shot at the genre and come up trumps. The movie has Anil Kapoor playing a Good Samaritan, street violinist, who receives a cloaking device created by his father that renders its user invisible. Using this device and going by his identity Mr India, he foils plans hatched by Mogambo and his henchmen, till he is finally confronted by the evil villain. The film received huge acclaim and a cult following, with many praising the makers for creating an Indian superhero film that didn’t mimic the Western ones and had an identity of its own. Considering that many are claiming Minnal Murali is a spiritual successor of Mr India, in terms of creating a home-grown superhero that suits the aesthetics and sensibilities of the land, Guru’s pick shouldn’t really come as a surprise.