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Hanuman Ansh produced by 3 women who contributed Rs 60 lakh each, has now earned Rs 291 cr
Once turned down by India's biggest streamer, Hanuman Ansh now has three offers from OTTs. The Rs 291 crore earner was financed by three women producers who invested equally towards Rs 1.8 cr budget.
Hanuman Ansh has collected Rs Rs 291.40 crore globally.
Vishal Chaturvedi’s devotional drama Hanuman Ansh has turned out to be an unexpected box-office success, and the film’s strong theatrical run has now brought fresh attention to both its makers and its future OTT release plans. While 21-year-old co-producer Anupriya Nagar has clarified her role in the film after various reports regarding her involvement in the project, producer Ragini Sona has revealed that several OTT platforms have expressed interest in acquiring the film following its theatrical success.
‘Joined the film in post-production phase’
Anupriya’s association with the project has attracted considerable attention online, with veteran actor Hema Malini also mentioning her while praising the film. However, reports suggesting that Anupriya curated the film have also been circulating. She has now clarified her role and explained that she joined the project only after the shoot had been completed.
“We are three women. I am the youngest. Three women from three different generations are associated with this film. I am the youngest. I joined the film after the shoot had been completed. They needed funds for the film’s post-production,” Anupriya told the media.
Anupriya clarified misconception about the extent of her financial contribution to the film.
‘Three women contributed towards Rs 1.8 cr budget of Hanuman Ansh’
“People think I have invested the entire amount for the film. I am the youngest producer, and I have contributed one-third of the total investment.”
While Anupriya has consistently maintained that she is one of the film’s three producers, her involvement at the post-production stage had not been mentioned by her previously. In fact, in several earlier interviews, she spoke about the team’s experiences during the film’s shoot, without specifying that she came on board after filming had wrapped.
According to Anupriya, the idea of her contributing financially to the film came from Neem Karoli Baba.
“Maharaj Ji said, ‘You have worked part-time in the UK for so many years. Why don’t you dedicate yourself completely to your devotion through this film?’ I invested without giving it much thought,” she said.
ALSO READ: ‘OTT platform rejected Hanuman Ansh’: Director recalls 14-year struggle behind Rs 270 cr hit
Vishal Chaturvedi on Anupriya’s involvement
Director Vishal Chaturvedi also spoke about Anupriya’s involvement in the film while highlighting the contribution of the original producers, Ragini Sona and Namrata G. Singh.
In a conversation with ABP News, he said, “Anupriya is a part of our team, our producers. She helped us at such a time. She also clarified two or three days ago at what stage she came into the film. I don’t know how the story spread, but among the producers of our film, Ragini Sona invested money as a stake even without much security. Namrata Singh ji also put money into her stake. These people worked very hard. When the film reached post-production and the editing began, we needed money, and that’s when Anupriya ji came in.”
Chaturvedi also dismissed reports claiming that Anupriya had written or curated the film.
“Something is also being said that she wrote the story or curated it. She herself has refuted that. So, this is fake news that has spread.”
He also spoke about the film’s original producers and their contribution to the project.
“There are two producers of mine, my team, and I get very emotional when I talk about them. When there is no discussion about them, I feel that it is not right. They are not giving interviews. Ragini ji, I feel, had a connection with Baba from her heart. Perhaps she met him when she was young. She is an old producer.”
A still from Hanuman Ansh.
Hanuman Ansh gets 3 OTT offers after theatrical success
Meanwhile, producer Ragini Sona told News18 that several OTT platforms have expressed interest in acquiring Hanuman Ansh following its theatrical success.
“Yes, that’s happening (laughs). One or two – sometimes three – streaming platforms are interested in getting our film, and that feels very good. It shows that people have accepted our film and how!” she said.
“Now I’m getting offers from everybody. It’s not something that we weren’t thinking of. As soon as our film started getting popular and everybody began going to see it, this started happening,” she added.
However, Ragini stressed that an OTT release was never the plan for Hanuman Ansh.
“We were very lucky. We were in talks with Cinepolis as distribution partners since the very beginning. While we were making it, we knew that we were making it for the big screen. We were very clear about that. It was never meant for the OTT space. Mayank (Shroff; Head of Film Distribution & Programming) is a believer and he was very much on the same page as us. They certainly knew the potential of our film as they’ve been in the market for the longest time,” Ragini continued.
Ragini Sona on keeping the film within budget
Ragini credited the film’s controlled budget and its real-location shoot for helping it connect with audiences.
“I’ve always had the belief that if you’re making a project that’s over-budget, it’s not going to work. I always told Vishal to keep the budget of this film in mind and that if we exceed it, we would be lost. But if you’ve to spend on something, you’ve to spend on it and we gave him that freedom and he did a very, very good job. We shot in real locations and that worked for us. The simplicity of the film connected with people.”
In the same conversation, Vishal also shared how carefully the film was managed with limited budget during production.
“We had gone into the shoot with a budget for 26 days, but we realised that the money would run out. So, we wrapped up the shoot in 22 days. We also had to bring the team back within the same budget,” he said.
A still from Hanuman Ansh.
Hanuman Ansh box office and trilogy plans
Made on a reported budget of Rs 2 crore, Hanuman Ansh has grossed Rs 291.40 crore globally within 40 days. The film has earned Rs 272.90 crore gross in India, with its India net collection standing at Rs 231.13 crore. Globally, the film has earned more than 145 times its reported budget.
Following its unexpected box-office success, Hanuman Ansh is set to expand into a trilogy. Co-producer Namrata Singh recently revealed that the makers are already planning two sequels, with the third instalment expected to take the story onto a global stage.
Headlined by Shobinaw Satyaa, Hanuman Ansh is inspired by the life of Neem Karoli Baba. The devotional drama traces his spiritual journey while exploring themes of faith, compassion, love, devotion and selfless service.
Neem Karoli Baba, whose birth name was Lakshman Narayan Sharma, became one of India’s influential spiritual figures of the modern era. His ashram at Kainchi Dham in Uttarakhand continues to draw devotees from across the world.