Madhur Bhandarkar says success of Hanuman Ansh makes for a ‘crucial case study’ for entire Indian film industry

Vishal Chaturvedi’s Hanuman Ansh, based on the life of Neem Karoli Baba, is nearing the ₹50 crore mark in India.

There was hardly any noise around Hanuman Ansh when it was released in theatres last month. However, positive word of mouth ensured that the devotional drama about the life and legacy of spiritual leader Neem Karoli Baba grew stronger in the next few days. The film has now crossed 25 days at the box office and collected ₹47 crore domestically. (Also read: India's most profitable film of 2026 earned 2000% profit: How a ₹2 crore film beat Dhurandhar, Awarapan 2, Toxic, Peddi)

Madhur Bhandarkar has hailed Hanuman Ansh, which was released in theatres on August 7.

What Madhur Bhandarkar said

National Award-winning filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar has now hailed the success story of Hanuman Ansh and took to his X account to write about it. He said, “Witnessed pure cinematic magic watching #HanumanAnsh in the theatre the audience was completely glued to the screen! 🙌@filmervishal direction is wonderfully honest & tender, while actor Shobhinav Satya’s portrayal of Neem Karoli Baba is purely natural and flawless.”

He added, “This small budget film with a non-star cast is a crucial case study for the entire Indian film industry. It proves that true conviction and powerful storytelling always triumph over massive budget films at the box office. My heartiest congratulations to the entire team the producers, actors, and technicians for their brilliant dedication, and a big thank you to the audience for making this incredible film a roaring blockbuster!”

About Hanuman Ansh

Hanuman Ansh is written and directed by Vishal Chaturvedi. It is based on the life of Neem Karoli Baba, popularly known as Maharaj-ji. The official synopsis reads, "A grieving boy seeks God to meet his departed mother, and in finding the divine, learns to serve humanity with miracles of love, food and silent blessings, becoming Hanuman Ansh, Neem Karoli Baba."

On opening day, Hanuman Ansh minted ₹10 lakh at the box office, according to Sacnilk. During the first two weeks, the film's box office collection remained abysmally low, earning only ₹1.48 crore.

The film started seeing an upward trend in box office numbers from Day 17, when it collected ₹2.20 crore. The film began to see footfall in theatres after it was lauded by audiences on social media, and positive word of mouth began to spread. The film's box office numbers remained nearly the same throughout the week, with the film collecting ₹10.40 crore in the third week.