Director Vishal Chaturvedi has spoken candidly about the rejection his film Hanuman Ansh faced from OTT platforms before its theatrical release. As the spiritual drama continues its impressive box-office run and nears the Rs 100 crore mark, Chaturvedi described the manner of one particular rejection as derogatory and said it revealed a narrative in the decision-makers’ minds that he felt was filled with garbage. The experience, he said, only strengthened his resolve to take the story of Neem Karoli Baba to cinema halls.
The Pitch and the Rejection
Chaturvedi recalled approaching an OTT platform with the story. During the meeting he was asked whether he had an Indian story with international relevance. He narrated the life and teachings of Maharaj Ji (Neem Karoli Baba) with deep emotion and said he literally broke down while telling it.
The project was turned down. What stayed with the director was not simply the rejection itself—something every filmmaker encounters repeatedly—but the language and tone used. He described the response as derogatory. In his words, the way the story was dismissed made him feel that the narrative operating in those minds was filled with garbage, and that it had become necessary to challenge and break that narrative.
Chaturvedi emphasised that filmmakers are accustomed to hearing “no.” The issue, in his view, lay in the attitude behind the refusal rather than the refusal alone.
Choosing Theatres Over a Quick Sale
Even after the film was completed, Chaturvedi and his producers faced advice to skip a theatrical release. Some suggested selling the rights to an OTT platform to recover the investment quickly. Others pointed to an earlier film on a similar subject that had not succeeded and questioned why another attempt was being made.
The team remained firm. Chaturvedi has stated that they had already decided the film would open in cinemas. In his assessment, a theatrical release remains the only reliable way to measure genuine audience connection. Without that public test, he believes, there is no accurate gauge of a film’s true success.
From Modest Opening to Sleeper Hit
Hanuman Ansh was released on 7 August 2026. It began with an extremely modest opening day of around Rs 10 lakh. In the following weeks, however, word of mouth began to build steadily. Collections improved significantly, and the film has since crossed the Rs 80 crore mark, with reports indicating it is approaching the Rs 100 crore territory.
The turnaround has been driven largely by organic audience response rather than heavy marketing. Viewers connected with the spiritual and emotional core of the story, and the film has sustained its run well into later weeks—an uncommon achievement for a title that started so quietly.
What the Journey Represents
Chaturvedi’s comments highlight a tension that many filmmakers of faith-based or culturally rooted stories have described: a perceived gap between certain institutional gatekeepers and the tastes of large sections of the theatrical audience. The strong box-office performance of Hanuman Ansh has given those observations greater weight.
The director has been careful to separate ordinary professional rejection from what he experienced as a dismissive and loaded response. By choosing the theatrical route and finding an audience, the film has, in his view, served as a practical answer to the narrative he felt needed challenging.
Looking Ahead
The success of Hanuman Ansh has already prompted discussion of further storytelling in the same universe. For Chaturvedi, the experience appears to have reinforced two convictions: that certain stories deserve a chance in front of paying audiences in cinema halls, and that the tone in which projects are evaluated can matter as much as the commercial calculation itself.
As the film continues its run, the director’s account of the earlier OTT rejection has become part of its public narrative—a reminder that the path to unexpected theatrical success can include moments of sharp dismissal, and that those moments can sometimes sharpen a filmmaker’s determination rather than deter it.
In the end, Hanuman Ansh found its audience the old-fashioned way: through word of mouth in theatres. The director’s willingness to speak about the rejections that preceded that success has added an extra layer to the film’s journey from overlooked project to one of the notable sleeper hits of the year.
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