Hanuman Ansh, now a Rs 316 crore blockbuster, almost didn’t get made; lead actor left. Director reveals, 'He vomited 40 times…'

Hanuman Ansh has emerged as the third highest-grossing Hindi film of 2026, earning over Rs 316 crore globally. In a recent interview, Dr Vishal Chaturvedi revealed that the blockbuster almost didn’t get made and he was ready to shelve the project. One team member had abandoned them, thinking the movie could not be made on the available budget. To make things worse, the lead actor fell extremely sick and had to withdraw from the project.

However, according to a number of team members, the project appeared to be directed by a spiritual force. People who happened to be Neem Karoli Baba devotees started joining the initiative just as it seemed to be coming to an end, frequently at the last minute.

But the issues were present from the outset. Hanuman Ansh attracted attention, but no one was prepared to invest money on it.


The narrative started when Vishal Chaturvedi began writing a book about Neem Karoli Baba and later stated that he wanted to make it into a movie. He discussed the concept with Namrata Singh, an old friend who also happened to be a follower of Neem Karoli Baba.

However, when the shooting began, many problems arose. One financier backed out, and the budget was cut by 60%.

Over time, the main group of people Vishal had first brought together began to break down because of different issues. Interestingly, almost everyone who joined as a replacement believed in Neem Karoli Baba and Lord Hanuman. Vishal thought that people who shared this love showed a special kind of commitment to the film. Even though the project had a small budget, the team often talked things over with them, and they happily accepted the agreement without asking for anything extra.

The person who was first in charge of managing the production eventually left, thinking that finishing the project under those conditions was almost impossible. Responsibility for making the product was later given to a 25-year-old person on Vishal’s team, even though they had no experience handling a project that big before.

Vishal said the whole filmmaking process was amazing. He mentioned that even though he only slept about four hours each night, some team members were getting by on just two hours of rest. He saw the dedication, the situations, and the final finishing of the film as nothing special.

The problems didn’t end there. The leading man fell sick. “He vomited about forty times. He informed us, ‘I had Hepatitis B once, and I think it relapsed.’ This news broke me. "The entire team is in Chitrakoot for the shoot, and the main lead is backing off,” he recalled.

That was when he came across Shobinaw Satya, who had an uncanny resemblance to the late ascetic and was also a devotee of Neem Kori Baba and Lord Hanuman, was a vegetarian and was working as an assistant director. He eventually stepped in as the lead.

The filmmakers ran out of money for post-production after the shoot was over. At that point, they encountered Anupriya Nagar, who had first learned about Neem Karoli Baba from an interview with Steve Jobs and had gone to India in pursuit of him.