Hanuman Ansh: Biggest OTT platform rejected ‘Hanuman Ansh,’ says director as he opens up on his 14 year struggle to make the Rs 200 crore grosser: ‘Steve Jobs visited Neem Karoli Baba’s ashram’ | Hindi Movie News

Director Vishal Chaturvedi’s ‘Hanuman Ansh’, based on the life of Neem Karoli Baba, has turned into one of the biggest box-office surprises of 2026. The film, which opened to a mere Rs 10 lakh in India and struggled to find an audience during its first two weeks, has witnessed a remarkable turnaround and is now recording strong collections even on weekdays.According to industry tracker Sacnilk, ‘Hanuman Ansh’ has collected Rs 222.88 crore nett in India, while its worldwide gross stands at Rs 277.80 crore. The film is currently the third-highest-grossing Indian release of 2026, behind ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ (Rs 1,813.39 crore) and ‘Border 2’ (Rs 450.19 crore). Made on a reported budget of less than Rs 2 crore, the film has also emerged as one of the most profitable releases of the decade, with its returns estimated at nearly 140 times its production cost.As the devotional drama continues its impressive theatrical run, an interview with doctor-turned-filmmaker Vishal Chaturvedi has been gaining attention online. In his conversation with The Indian Thing, the filmmaker opened up about the long and difficult journey behind ‘Hanuman Ansh’, including the setbacks he faced while trying to get his projects off the ground.“It took 14 years after leaving the medical profession for me to make Hanuman Ansh,” he revealed during a conversation with The Indian Thing. “I wanted to make my first film in the second or third year after leaving the medical profession, but couldn’t. It’s not like anyone who steps into the industry will become a director. I began working on the film during the COVID era.”He recalled how the pandemic deeply affected him, particularly after losing several people close to him. “A lot of people close to me, including my best friend’s mother, my first cousin, and my mentor, died during that period in a span of five to six days. It affected me mentally, as I couldn’t help anyone despite being a doctor. During the second wave of COVID, I began feeling an urge to do something positive. So, I started a group called Hanuman Chalisa on Clubhouse. The intent was simple: share your woes, or if you want to pray for your family, you can by reciting Hanuman Chalisa. People from different parts of the world joined it eventually.”At the same time, Chaturvedi was trying to find his footing in the film industry, but several projects failed to materialise. “A big film of mine had been announced, but it wasn’t going on floors. In between, I signed two or three more things. There was a Hotstar show as well, which was launched, but then it was called off. These were becoming too taxing,” he shared.His fascination with Lord Hanuman and Neem Karoli Baba, however, had been around for much longer. “I was always fascinated by Hanuman ji as a character. The idea came to my mind about 20 years ago. I had been travelling with it since then, narrating Neem Karoli Baba’s story to everyone. Once I began telling them I was going to make a film on him, their main question was, ‘Who would play Baba?’” he added.Getting the film made proved to be another challenge, with even a major OTT platform turning down the concept. Chaturvedi recalled pitching ideas to what he described as the biggest OTT platform in the world.“Once, I approached the biggest OTT platform in the world to pitch concepts. As they liked my first two, they asked if I had Indian concepts with international relevance. Excited, I told them about Neem Karoli Baba. I said, ‘It is the story from India for the world,’ because tech giants Apple, Meta and Google had some stories related to him.”He then explained why he believed Baba’s story had global relevance. “Steve Jobs visited India 13 days after Baba’s death, stayed at his ashram, and probably drew inspiration for Apple from there, rooted in minimalism. Then, Steve Jobs asked Mark Zuckerberg to visit Baba’s ashram, and he eventually did. I told the two female executives of the OTT platform all this. One of them was from Uttarakhand and was slightly interested in what I was saying, but she was junior to the other. As soon as I finished pitching, the senior bluntly said, ‘We are not looking for such kinds of concepts.’ Their reaction triggered me,” he added.Despite the repeated setbacks, Chaturvedi eventually brought his long-gestating project to the big screen. The film has since found a strong audience and continues to add to its impressive box-office tally.On Monday, ‘Hanuman Ansh’ earned Rs 8.25 crore nett in India from 9,198 shows, taking its total domestic collection to Rs 222.88 crore.