Hanuman Ansh director Vishal Chaturvedi recalls OTT rejection as film crosses ₹80 cr mark: ‘It was derogatory’

Vishal Chaturvedi's film Hanuman Ansh has surprised all by crossing ₹80 crore at the box office.

Vishal Chaturvedi's directorial Hanuman Ansh has worked a miracle of sorts at the box office. The film, which no one was talking about until a while ago, picked up pace at the box office, so much so that it has now crossed the ₹80 crore mark. While many are celebrating the film's success today, its director revealed that he faced rejection when he pitched the film to an OTT platform.

Vishal Chaturvedi spoke about Hanuman Ansh.

'The language they used was derogatory'

Speaking to India TV, he recalled, “I had gone to pitch my story on an OTT platform, and there they told me that I have an Indian story with international relevance. I narrated Maharaj Ji’s story in such a way that I literally broke down."

Deep Dive

What factors contributed to the success of Hanuman Ansh at the box office?

Why did Vishal Chaturvedi find the rejection from the OTT platform derogatory?

How did Hanuman Ansh manage to attract audiences from different communities?

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Vishal recalled that the platform rejected his film, but he found the manner in which they did so derogatory and insulting. He also shared that as a filmmaker he is used to rejections but there is a way to reject someone's project.

He said, "Mujhe laga jis tarah unhone reject kiya, jis bhaasha ka prayog kiya, woh thodi derogatory thi (The way they rejected, the language they used to reject me was derogatory). The way they said it, I felt that the narrative in their mind, the way they rejected it, there is a hole in their mind through the narrative. Now it is necessary to bust that narrative. We are filmmakers, we have been rejected a thousand times. You narrate a story and if you don’t understand it, you say that it is good, but we will do it later."

About Hanuman Ansh

Hanuman Ansh, which released in theatres on August 7, had a slow start at the box office, earning merely ₹10 lakh on its opening day. The film earned around ₹1.80 crore in its first week of release and just ₹40 lakh in its second week.

However, the film witnessed a major turnaround in its third week, driven by strong word of mouth. Footfalls began increasing steadily, with shows eventually turning into house-full screenings. The film saw a tremendous rise in its collections, minting ₹10.40 crore in its third week. Its box-office momentum continued into the fourth week, when it earned ₹61 crore. The film's India gross collection now stands at ₹96.03 crore, while its total India net collection has reached ₹81.41 crore.

The devotional drama Hanuman Ansh is based on the life of spiritual guru Neem Karoli Baba. The film is written, directed and produced by Dr Vishal Chaturvedi, and stars Shobhinaw Satyaa in the lead role.