Hanuman Ansh director did film for free, will now make over Rs 50 cr; film earns Rs 366 cr - The Indian Express
Hanuman Ansh has emerged as the biggest surprise hit of the year. The third biggest hit of 2026, after Dhurandhar 2 and Border 2, has been in theatres for seven weeks now, and it seems like it will continue to be in theatres for the next few weeks. One of the film’s producers, Anupriya Nagar, recently confirmed that the film was made on a budget of a little over Rs 1.5 crore, and she personally invested Rs 50 lakh in the film. She also shared that director Vishal Chaturvedi did not take any fee during the making of the film, but now, the profit from the film will be equally divided between the four partners: three producers and director Vishal.
In a chat with Siddharth Kannan, Anupriya announced, “I put in one-third of the entire budget. I put Rs 50 lakh in the film, and the budget was a little over Rs 1.5 crore.” As per trade tracker Sacnilk, the film has collected Rs 366.45 crore gross in the first 47 days. When asked what returns she will get from the film, she said, “I will get one-fourth of the profits. First, the distributor will take their cut. Then we also pay for other expenses and pay taxes. Then whatever is left will be divided among the four of us.”
Anupriya was asked about the kind of returns she might make independently and she said that she is looking at at least Rs 50 crore so far, and that is even before the makers have made an OTT, satellite or music deal. “So far, it seems like I will be making Rs 50 crore. But all of this is theoretical. We are yet to make an OTT, music and satellite deal,” she said.
When asked about her plans with Rs 50 crore, she said, “I don’t even know how to handle this kind of money so I think the best way to go about it is to give back to society.” Anupriya said that she wants to set up a production house so she can share more such stories. She said that she wants to make regional films and web series but she wants to do all of it on a smaller budget. “I want to make films on small budgets because I know that Hanuman Ansh became possible only because of its small budget. If my budget was too big, I don’t think it would have turned out this way. I want to make sure that I save a certain percentage of money for my production house,” she said.
Anupriya then spoke about the director, Vishal Chaturvedi, and said that he tried to tell this story for 14 long years. “He had narrated this to many OTT platforms. Ragini Sona and Namrata Singh (co-producers) were the ones who showed faith in the film and said let’s make it,” she said. Anupriya said that she joined the project during the post-production stage as that is when the team required some funds.
Talking about Vishal, she said, “All of us had faith in Vishal. He is a first-time director and I am glad he got that break. What beautiful direction and script he has written.” She also opened up about his fee and said, “Our budget was very minimal, so he said that he won’t take any fee during the making. But in the company, we are all equal partners, so if we are doing well, then the four of us will be doing well.”
Hanuman Ansh is yet to make an OTT deal.
