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EYE ON BOLLYWOOD SEPTEMBER 11, 2026 | The Indian Eye 44

Hanuman Ansh:

How a niche film turned

into a sleeper hit

The movie about the life and teachings of Neeb Karori Baba has defied box-office

expectations to emerge as one of 2026’s surprise successes

OUR BUREAU ing it inaccessible to audiences unfa-
miliar with Neeb Karori Baba.
Mumbai
Chaturvedi was conscious of that
n an industry where big stars, ex- challenge from the beginning. He de-
pensive productions and aggres- liberately avoided making the film a
Isive marketing often determine conventional biopic or even directly
a film’s opening, Hanuman Ansh has using the saint’s name in the title. “I
taken a very different route to success. was very conscious about not using
A low-budget film centred on the life his name directly,” he said, explaining
and teachings of spiritual figure Neeb that Hanuman Ansh was intended
Karori Baba, it was never positioned as “a conceptual name” inspired by
as a conventional commercial enter- the belief among devotees that Baba
tainer. Yet weeks after its theatrical was an “Anshik Hanuman” or par-
release, the film has developed into a tial incarnation of Lord Hanuman.
sleeper hit, sustaining audience inter- More importantly, the director
est despite competition from much wanted the film to move beyond a
larger releases. narrowly religious audience. “I didn’t
The film’s unexpected journey want to make a film only for those
is partly a story about the changing who already believe in Baba,” he said.
nature of the Indian audience. What “Today’s youth is already connect-
appeared to be a niche spiritual film ed with spirituality. Most of Neeb
has found resonance among viewers Karori Baba’s devotees are Gen Z.”
beyond the traditional devotee base, The core message — “love all,
particularly younger audiences. Film serve all, feed all and remember Ram”
trade analyst Taran Adarsh has gone — gives the film an emotional frame-
as far as calling it “the biggest success work that extends beyond questions
story of 2026.” of belief. Its depiction of a saint un-
For director Vishal Chaturvedi, Hombale Films will distribute Hanuman Ansh in overseas markets from September 11 (File photo) touched by “power, politics, owner-
however, the film’s eventual success ship and praise” allows the story to
was not entirely unexpected. He had from word of mouth and sustained shows were sold out, a crisis situation function as much as a narrative about
always believed that its emotional interest. Its audience did not simply was created.” human values as one about spirituality.
and spiritual themes could connect arrive in large numbers at the begin- The filmmakers responded by The international release could
with audiences, even though the ini- ning; it continued to build as more treating distribution almost as a now take that appeal further. Hom-
tial response from parts of the trade people discovered the film. grassroots campaign. Instead of re- bale Films will distribute Hanuman
was far less encouraging. “I used to The film also faced a problem lying solely on conventional promo- Ansh in overseas markets from Sep-
feel that the film will be a hit and it that would normally be associated tion, the production team travelled tember 11. The decision reflects the
will complete its run in two and a with a successful movie rather than across theatres to track the film’s growing international recognition of
half months,” Chaturvedi said. His a struggling one: lack of screens. performance and push for more Neeb Karori Baba, whose legacy has
confidence was reinforced by what The arrival of bigger films such as shows. “We started covering each attracted figures such as Steve Jobs,
happened in the second week. “We Emraan Hashmi-starrer Awarapan and every theatre,” Chaturvedi said, Mark Zuckerberg and Julia Roberts.
had 25 theatres, but we were getting 2 and Yash’s Toxic put pressure on describing a journey through Gujarat The overseas release may there-
almost the same collection that we exhibitors to accommodate commer- and Rajasthan that included Surat, fore become the next chapter in an
were getting from 250 theatres in the cially stronger releases. “The the- Baroda, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Morbi, unlikely box-office story. Hanuman
first week,” he added. atre owners had two other big films. Jodhpur, Jaipur and Udaipur. Ansh began as a modest film about
That contrast captures the film’s They were putting up their shows,” That determination mattered be- a spiritual figure with a devoted but
unusual trajectory. Unlike main- Chaturvedi said. “Because they were cause Hanuman Ansh was attempt- specialised following. Its theatrical
stream releases that depend heavily getting pushed from there, and they ing something commercially difficult: performance suggests that its audi-
on a large opening weekend, Hanu- were taking out our film. They didn’t turning a deeply spiritual subject into ence was considerably larger than the
man Ansh appears to have benefited have any other way, but when all the a theatrical experience without mak- filmmakers or trade initially assumed.

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