Director Vishal Chaturvedi of the surprise hit Hanuman Ansh has spoken candidly about the lack of support he received from Bollywood before the film’s success. Made on a modest budget of around ₹2 crore, the spiritual drama based on the life of Neem Karoli Baba opened to a weak ₹10 lakh on August 7, 2026. Theatre screens were drastically cut from 250 to just 25 as bigger films took priority, and multiplexes remained sceptical.
Yet strong word-of-mouth turned it into a sleeper hit, crossing ₹50 crore and climbing toward higher figures, with a sequel already in the works. In a conversation on The Raunac Podcast, Chaturvedi revealed the industry’s shift in attitude once the film gained momentum. “After the film started to do well, several people called me to congratulate me. I don’t want to name them,” he said. He specifically mentioned Madhur Bhandarkar, who offered congratulations without having been approached for help earlier. For the others, however, he was clear: “I am not mentioning the others because I had sought help from those people and they didn’t help me. Hence, I don’t want to name them for now just because they are congratulating me.”
Chaturvedi was equally blunt about the industry mindset. “People mostly don’t know what is going to work, but yet they pass on their gyaan to others. The industry is filled with confused people,” he noted, distinguishing between those with genuine passion for filmmaking and those treating it as a casual experiment. He credited audiences for driving the film’s success when institutional support was missing.
Hanuman Ansh has since drawn praise from figures including Kangana Ranaut, who called it “not a movie; it’s a satsang.” Chaturvedi’s remarks highlight a familiar Bollywood pattern: silence in struggle, applause after success. The film’s journey stands as a reminder that conviction and audience connection can outweigh industry endorsement.
