Why Hanuman Ansh was not sent as India's Oscar entry this year

Hanuman Ansh, which continues to draw audiences in theatres, was not submitted as India’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars this year. Producer Namrata Singh said the film was not rejected and the team had not decided against the Oscars, but simply missed the submission deadline.

In a recent interview, Namrata further said the team has been occupied with the film’s language rollout, accessibility work and promotional tour commitments. She said a small team is handling these responsibilities one by one, even as the film continues its theatrical run and prepares for its Telugu release.

Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, Namrata said, “We missed the Oscar submission deadline [for consideration as India's official entry for Best International Feature Film] yesterday (September 7), as it was the last day. We got calls from a thousand people ki aap ne film submit nahin ki (You didn't submit the film). But we didn't know about it. We are busy with too many things. Also, we are a really small team.”

She said the team is currently focused on taking Hanuman Ansh to audiences in other languages rather than trying to do everything at once. Namrata said, “First, we have done dubbing for Telugu and then work on the rest of the languages. We are also working on accessibility so that people of different abilities can see the film. The artists and director are on tour. There's hardly anyone in the office.”

The film’s Telugu version is scheduled to release in cinemas on September 18. Filmmaker Trivikram Srinivas is associated with the Telugu version, which was announced on September 11, coinciding with the Mahasamadhi Day of Neem Karoli Baba.

At present, Telugu is the only dubbed version of the film, with the makers planning to work on other language versions later.

Written and directed by Vishal Chaturvedi, Hanuman Ansh was released in theatres on August 7. Shobhinaw Satyaa plays Neem Karoli Baba, while Chandan K Anand, Nikhil Dubey, Anil Rastogi, Sugandha Malhotra and Bhagvandas Patel are also part of the cast.

The film follows Lakshmi Narayan, a young boy in pre-Independence India who leaves home after his mother’s death in search of God. His journey across northern India eventually leads to his transformation into Neem Karoli Baba.Box office run and OTT release

Hanuman Ansh has continued its strong run at the box office. According to Sacnilk, on Day 38 it collected a domestic nett of Rs 0.94 crore across 1,259 shows, taking its total domestic nett collection to Rs 194.07 crore and its India gross to Rs 229.26 crore. It remained ahead of new release Haiwaan and holdover title Mirzapur: The Movie in the daily box office charts.

Producer Ragini Sona has also denied reports that the film has received a Rs 100 crore OTT deal, saying the claims are rumours while the film continues its run in theatres.

Earlier, Hanuman Ansh director-producer Dr Vishal Chaturvedi had said an OTT rejection pushed him to bring the film to the big screen. He said he had pitched the story to a platform where he was asked if he had an Indian story with international relevance, and that the way the story was rejected strengthened his resolve to make the film. After the film’s sleeper-hit success, he also questioned why Hindi cinema had not earlier told the story of Neem Karoli Baba.- EndsPublished By: Priyanka SharmaPublished On: Sep 13, 2026 16:37 ISTALSO READ | Beyond star power: Is Hindi cinema entering a film-first era?