Sometimes the biggest rejections turn into the biggest comebacks. That’s exactly what happened with Hanuman Ansh — a devotional film made on a shoestring budget that an OTT platform once turned down, only to watch it roar past ₹100 crore at the box office.
The Rejection
Before its theatrical release, director Dr. Vishal Chaturvedi took his story to a major OTT platform, hoping to bring the tale of Baba Neem Karoli (Maharaj Ji) to screens. Instead of getting a green light, he says he was told his project was an “Indian story with international relevance” — a line he found dismissive and, in his own words, “a little derogatory.” Chaturvedi has said the experience left him deeply affected. He narrated Maharaj Ji’s story with so much emotion during the pitch that he “literally broke down” — only to be turned away.
The Grind
Rather than shelve the project, Chaturvedi doubled down. He made Hanuman Ansh on a modest ₹2 crore budget — a fraction of what most theatrical releases cost today. He waived his own directing fees entirely. During the over four-month shoot, he reportedly maintained a strict vegetarian set, led daily Hanuman Chalisa chants with the cast and crew, and survived on a fruit-only diet throughout production — treating the film less like a commercial project and more like a personal devotional mission.
The Payoff
The film opened modestly — its first day collections were reportedly as low as ₹10 lakh. But word-of-mouth did what marketing budgets couldn’t. Audiences kept showing up, and the film’s collections snowballed week after week. As of early September 2026, Hanuman Ansh is within touching distance of the coveted ₹100 crore mark at the Indian box office — a staggering 50x return on its original budget, and a rare feat for a devotional film in an industry increasingly dominated by big-budget action and franchise films.
Why It Matters
Chaturvedi has framed the film’s success as more than a personal victory — he sees it as proof that India’s spiritual and devotional stories still resonate deeply with audiences, even when gatekeepers doubt their commercial potential. In interviews, he’s pointed to Hanuman Ansh‘s journey as a response to what he sees as a broader disconnect in how Indian spiritual narratives get evaluated by decision-makers in the industry.
Whether or not other platforms are now reconsidering devotional content, one thing is clear: a filmmaker who was told his story wasn’t worth backing has ended up with one of the year’s most unlikely blockbusters — built on faith, food-budget filmmaking, and word-of-mouth alone.