The unexpected success of Hanuman Ansh has given director Vishal plenty to celebrate, but the filmmaker says the film’s journey was far from easy.
The movie, which arrived in cinemas on August 7, initially struggled to maintain its theatrical presence after competing releases took over screens. Despite the setback, the film gradually found an audience through strong word-of-mouth and the team’s efforts to connect directly with viewers.
Now, as Hanuman Ansh reportedly moves closer to the Rs 75 crore mark, Vishal has spoken candidly about the challenges he faced and the lack of support he felt from parts of Bollywood.
From Hundreds of Shows to Just a Few
Hanuman Ansh reportedly began its theatrical run with more than 350 shows across India. But its screen count was later reduced significantly as other movies arrived in theatres.
During an appearance on The Raunac Podcast, Vishal recalled how quickly the situation changed. According to the director, the film went from around 250 shows to only about 25.
He also claimed that getting shows in prime multiplex locations was particularly difficult, with chains such as PVR and Cinepolis reportedly hesitant to give the film more space.
The situation became so discouraging that Vishal began to feel the film had failed.
A Message That Gave the Director Hope
Just when the filmmaker was losing confidence, an Instagram post caught his attention.
Vishal said he normally ignores such posts, but one message stood out to him. It carried a spiritual message telling him to continue doing his work and leave the outcome to a higher power.
The director said the message gave him a fresh sense of motivation after the film’s first week.
Instead of giving up, he and his team decided to take a more direct approach to promotion.
The Team Took the Film to the Audience
Vishal travelled to different cities along with lead actor Shobinav Satyaa and music composer Rishi Pathak. Rather than limiting themselves to conventional promotional activities, they visited theatres and met audiences in person.
Their first major stop was Surat, where the film had only one show scheduled.
According to Vishal, the audience’s reaction surprised everyone. Viewers reportedly became emotional, hugged the team and showed strong affection for the film.
The theatre owner, impressed by the response, allegedly contacted other theatres and helped increase the number of shows.
The team subsequently travelled to places including Vadodara and Aligarh.
Vishal claimed that one of the additional shows in Aligarh sold out within approximately 15 minutes, giving the film’s theatrical run another boost.
Hanuman Ansh Becomes a Surprise Hit
The film’s performance reportedly improved considerably as word-of-mouth spread.
Vishal has stated that Hanuman Ansh is now approaching Rs 75 crore at the box office. He has also said that the movie was produced for around Rs 2 crore.
If the figures shared by the director are accurate, the film’s reported performance represents a substantial return compared with its modest production budget.
An international release is also reportedly planned.
Director Takes a Dig at Bollywood
Despite the film’s success, Vishal doesn’t appear to have forgotten the difficulties he faced during the early days.
He revealed that several people from the industry called to congratulate him after the movie started performing well.
The director said he appreciated the congratulations but was also aware that some of those people had not helped when he had approached them during the film’s difficult phase.
Vishal deliberately chose not to reveal their names.
He did, however, mention that filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar congratulated him, while stressing that Bhandarkar was not among the people from whom he had sought help.
“People Don’t Know What Will Work”
Vishal also questioned the certainty with which people in the film industry often give advice.
According to him, many people may not actually know what audiences will accept, yet they continue to offer their opinions and advice to filmmakers.
He described Bollywood as an industry where people can be confused about what works and suggested that there is a major difference between those who genuinely love filmmaking and those who simply see it as another career or business opportunity.
For Hanuman Ansh, however, the director’s biggest source of confidence appears to have been the audience itself.
The film’s journey from a dramatic reduction in theatre shows to a reported Rs 75 crore run highlights how word-of-mouth and audience response can sometimes change the course of a movie’s theatrical performance.
