Amidst large film projects, the extremely low-budget movie 'Hanuman ANSH' has achieved significant success in cinemas, attracting audience attention. Released on July 31, the film initially earned 1.5 million rupees in its first two weeks. However, a sharp jump in revenue occurred in the third week, with the film bringing in 10.5 million rupees in that week alone.
According to reports, the film was shot on a budget of between 1.8–2 million rupees. As a result, the film's total revenue reached approximately 12 million rupees, representing a profit exceeding the production budget by more than 500 percent. Social media is also showing a positive public reaction to this film.
Trade reports indicate that the initial run of 'Hanuman ANSH' started with an opening of only 1 million rupees. The total income for the first week was 1.08 million rupees. In the second week, the growth rate slowed down, and the film earned only 400 thousand rupees. Thus, after two weeks, the film's total collection amounted to about 1.5 million rupees.
However, the situation changed drastically in the third week. Revenues suddenly accelerated, and the film collected 10.5 million rupees. This massive growth turns 'Hanuman ANSH' into an unexpected hit among low-budget films.
Besides the financial success, the story preceding the film's release also drew attention. The film's producers sought advice from Prem Anand Ji Maharaj before the premiere. Vishal Chaturvedi, the director and screenwriter, stated in an interview that after filming wrapped up, one of the producers visited Prem Anand Maharaj to seek recommendations before the release.
According to Vishal, the Maharaj advised the main character to be extremely careful in his lifestyle and adhere to a vegetarian diet. The director noted that he strongly recommended the lead actor to observe these precautions.
The creators not only accepted the advice but also strictly followed several rules during filming. Vishal Chaturvedi reported that insults, fights, or arguments were prohibited on set; only vegetarian food was allowed, and none of the people associated with the film consumed alcohol.
Furthermore, every day of shooting began and ended with the recitation of the 'Hanuman Chalisa'. Actor Shobhanav Satya, who played Nim Karoli Baba, shared his experience working on set. He mentioned that the entire team recited the 'Hanuman Chalisa' whenever any difficulties arose during filming.
Vishal added that sometimes shooting was supposed to start at 7 am, but for some reason, the camera might not start until 10 am. In such moments, he would ask the team to recite the 'Hanuman Chalisa', believing it was better to do something useful than just sit idle.
In the director's opinion, often by the time the recitation of the 'Hanuman Chalisa' finished, a solution to the problem encountered during filming had been found.
The story of 'Hanuman ANSH' is interesting not only because of the filming rules. The creators chose an unconventional approach to promoting the film. Vishal Chaturvedi explained that when they started the advertising campaign, they had almost no money. Therefore, they decided that the goal of the promotion should be solely to convey the message of Nim Karoli Baba to people.
To achieve this, the creators organized eight charitable meals (bhandars). These bhandars became their marketing campaign, through which information about the film reached the general public. Vishal also mentioned that despite the difficult circumstances, the CBFC issued the film a U certificate without any issues.
The success of 'Hanuman ANSH' came at a time when audiences in recent months had responded positively to low-budget spiritual and religious films. Among the film's creators are Ragini S, Namrata Ji Singh, Anupriya E Nagar, and Vishal Chaturvedi.
'Hanuman ANSH' is now included in the list of low-budget films that managed to gain an audience without the involvement of big stars and huge budgets. In the last six months, films like 'Lalo' and 'Deul Band 2' have also attracted audience attention due to their spiritual theme. This indicates an interesting trend in box office: a low-budget film with a spiritual plot and without stars can resonate with the hearts of viewers, which is confirmed by the recent collection of 'Hanuman ANSH' in the third week.
