Hanuman Ansh movie was born from a 21-year-old Mumbai student's assignment project. Who is Anupriya Nagar?

A university assignment on Steve Jobs unexpectedly set Anupriya Nagar on a path from economics to cinema. At just 21, the Mumbai student began exploring Neem Karoli Baba after discovering the spiritual connection between the revered Indian saint and the Apple co-founder. What began as academic research eventually evolved into a year-long investigation, a meeting with filmmaker Vishal Chaturvedi and Hanuman Ansh, a low-budget film that has emerged as an unlikely box-office success and is now heading to international audiences.

Who is Anupriya Nagar?

According to her LinkedIn profile, Anupriya Nagar is a Film Producer and Economist. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Bath. Today, she is among the producers of Hanuman Ansh, a film inspired by the life and legacy of Neem Karoli Baba. But Nagar’s entry into filmmaking was far from conventional. In fact, cinema was never part of the career she had originally envisioned.

After completing her Economics degree in the UK, Nagar had planned to move to Switzerland and take up a job in the art industry. She told ABP Live that filmmaking and returning to India were never part of her plans. Nagar said she had completed her Economics degree in the UK after spending three years there. She had recently graduated and had never planned to make a film or return to India. Instead, she was preparing to move to Switzerland after securing a promising job in the art industry, a field she had been surrounded by while growing up.

The Steve Jobs assignment that changed everything

Nagar’s journey towards Hanuman Ansh began during her final year at university, when an economics assignment unexpectedly introduced her to Neem Karoli Baba. While working on a university module related to investment and banking, she researched Steve Jobs as a businessman and thinker. During that research, she came across the Apple co-founder’s connection with Neem Karoli Baba and his visit to India.

The discovery prompted her to look beyond Steve Jobs and explore the life and influence of the Indian spiritual figure himself. During her final year of college, she was researching several technology companies and exploring the origins of ideas associated with founders of companies such as Apple and Meta. While reading an article, she learned that Neem Karoli Baba had influenced Steve Jobs and that Jobs had visited Kainchi Dham. The revelation surprised her and encouraged her to research the Indian saint further, particularly because she had discovered this information about an Indian spiritual figure through a foreign source.

The subject stayed with Nagar long after the assignment ended. What began as curiosity eventually developed into serious research, with the young student initially imagining that her work could become a book or even a comic book.

From a book idea to a film

Nagar’s plans changed after she returned to India and crossed paths with filmmaker Vishal Chaturvedi, who was already working on a film about Neem Karoli Baba. “I first thought to write a book or comic book. I was just 20. But when I came to India, I came across Vishal Chaturvedi, who was making a film on Neem Karoli Baba. It was all unplanned — pure coincidence," she added.

The coincidence ultimately transformed an academic project into a cinematic venture. Nagar and her team spent around a year researching Neem Karoli Baba, travelling to places associated with him and speaking to people who had known or spent time with him. Chitrakoot and Vrindavan were among the locations explored during their research. That extensive research eventually became part of the foundation for Hanuman Ansh, written and directed by Vishal Chaturvedi.

Who is Neem Karoli Baba?

Hanuman Ansh is inspired by the life and teachings of Shri Neem Karoli Baba, popularly known as Maharaj ji. He is revered by devotees as an incarnation of Lord Hanuman and was known for teachings centred on love, devotion and service, as per the press release. The spiritual figure’s influence has extended well beyond India, with several globally recognised personalities having been associated with his teachings and legacy.

Steve Jobs visited India in 1974 while seeking spiritual guidance and is known to have travelled in connection with Maharaj ji. Mark Zuckerberg later visited Kainchi Dham, a place closely associated with the saint, reportedly following advice from Jobs. Actress Julia Roberts has also spoken about the influence of Neem Karoli Baba on her spiritual journey, as per the press release.

It was this unusual intersection of Indian spirituality, global technology icons and a young economics student’s curiosity that ultimately became the starting point for Hanuman Ansh.

Hanuman Ansh turns into a box-office surprise

Despite being a low-budget movie, Hanuman Ansh has exceeded the expectations of cinemagoers by soaring at the box office. Film Trade Analyst Taran Adarsh has described the film as “the biggest success story of 2026.” The film has also recorded a sustained theatrical run in India, adding another unexpected chapter to Nagar’s unconventional journey from university research to film production.

Written and directed by Vishal Chaturvedi, Hanuman Ansh stars Shobhina W Satyaa, Vihaan S Hegde, Chandan Anand, Purnima Tiwari, Anil K Rastogi and Gulshan Pandey. The film was produced by Ragini S, Namrata G Singh, Anupriya A Nagar and Vishal Chaturvedi, and had an all-India theatrical release by Cinepolis.

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Hanuman Ansh heads overseas

The film’s journey is now extending beyond India. Hombale Films announced on social media that Hanuman Ansh will be distributed internationally through Hombale Overseas. The production house said the film, which is rooted in faith and follows the spiritual journey of Maharaj-ji, will reach audiences across the world. Hanuman Ansh is scheduled for a worldwide release on September 11, 2026.

Hanuman Ansh will be released in international markets on September 11, with Hombale Films taking up its overseas distribution. For Nagar, what began as an economics assignment and an unexpected fascination with Steve Jobs’ connection to Neem Karoli Baba has evolved into a film reaching audiences far beyond the research project that first sparked her curiosity.