The film industry often wonders how low-budget films can surpass projects featuring big stars. This happened with the film 'Hanuman ANSH,' which, despite being shot on a budget of about two million rupees, achieved impressive box office success. The film grossed over 300 million rupees globally.
Of particular interest is the fact that three women invested in the production of this spiritual and mystical story, each contributing around 60 lakh rupees.
In addition to the film's success, public attention is also focused on the female producers. The young associate producer, 21-year-old Anupriya Nagar, commented on rumors regarding her role. She clarified that she was not part of the crew during filming but joined after the principal photography concluded, when the film was in post-production and required funding for editing and other tasks.
According to Anupriya, she contributed one-third of the total investment, amounting to approximately 60 lakh rupees out of the total outlay of 1.8 million rupees. The remaining funds were provided by two other female producers—Ragini Sona and Namrata Singh.
Anupriya denied reports that she financed the entire film. She emphasized that she is the youngest of the three producers and contributed only one-third of the total costs. She explained that the decision to invest was not merely a routine business venture but was motivated by her deep faith in Nim Karoli Baba. According to her, Maharaj told her that since she had worked part-time in the UK for many years, she should dedicate herself fully to service, and after that, she invested in the film without much hesitation.
Director Vishal Chaturvedi also dispelled misunderstandings about Anupriya's role. He stated that she is part of the team and producers, having joined the project during the post-production and editing phase. Vishal rejected claims that Anupriya wrote or supervised the plot, noting that Anupriya herself has already refuted this information, and such news is fake. The director specifically highlighted the contribution of Ragini Sona and Namrata Singh, emphasizing that both producers believed in the project from the beginning and supported it even during difficult times.
The most striking aspect of 'Hanuman ANSH' is its box office performance. The film, created with a declared budget of 2 million rupees, grossed 291.40 million rupees worldwide in just 40 days. The revenue collected in India amounted to 272.90 million rupees, with the net collection in India reaching 231.13 million rupees. Thus, the film earned more than 145 times its estimated global budget.
According to producer Ragini Sona, following such a success, interest is now showing from not one, but sometimes up to three streaming platforms to purchase the film.
Ragini reported that as the film's popularity grew among viewers, offers began coming in from streaming services. However, she insists that the film was originally made for the big screen, and an OTT release was never their initial plan. The team had also contacted Cinepolis in advance regarding distribution partnership, and Ragini noted that the team believed from the start that this story should be presented to audiences in cinemas.
The small budget and simplicity are also considered reasons for the success of 'Hanuman ANSH.' Ragini Sona mentioned that she asked director Vishal Chaturvedi to control the budget from the beginning. Vishal added that filming started with a planned budget for 26 days, but it became clear during the process that the funds might not be enough, so they completed filming in only 22 days. The film was shot on real locations, and the team tried to bring the story to the screen with limited resources. Ragini believes that this simplicity appealed to the audience.
Following such massive box office success, the film's story is planned to continue. Associate Producer Namrata Singh previously revealed that the creators are working on two sequels. It is planned that the third film will take the story to a global level. 'Hanuman ANSH,' featuring Shobina Satya, is inspired by the life of Nim Karoli Baba. The film depicts aspects of his spiritual journey, including faith, love, compassion, devotion, and selfless work. The true name of Nim Karoli Baba is Lakshman Narayan Sharma, a resident of Uttarakhand.
