When Shreyas Talpade backed calls to make Hanuman Ansh tax-free in Maharashtra this week, the comment could easily have become another celebrity endorsement of a devotional film. But there is a more interesting story underneath it.
How did a film reportedly made for around ₹2 crore, which opened to just ₹10 lakh and barely made a dent at the box office in its first two weeks, turn into one of the most unexpected theatrical successes of 2026? The answer is not simply faith. There are some very tangible things happening here: a dramatic late surge in collections, strong word of mouth, growing demand for shows, celebrity endorsements and a subject with a built-in audience beyond conventional Hindi cinema.
Talpade himself pointed to the unusual nature of the film’s run. “Stories should touch people’s hearts and only then will they start doing business. I think Hanuman Ansh is one such story that has touched people’s hearts. People are able to relate to it and thus it is working well at the box office. The film started doing business in the third or fourth week. It is a miracle in itself,” he said.
Hanuman Ansh Found Its Audience After Release
Hanuman Ansh arrived in cinemas on August 7 with little of the noise normally associated with a film expected to become a theatrical success. Its opening-day collection was estimated at around ₹10 lakh, while its first two weeks brought in only around ₹1.48 crore, according to trade tracker Sacnilk.
Director Vishal Chaturvedi has also spoken about the initial difficulty in securing shows. Reports from the film’s run suggest several theatres initially gave it limited space before audience demand led to an expansion in screenings. Collections began climbing sharply in the third week. India Today reported that the film reached ₹47.33 crore in India gross by its 24th day, while later reports placed its domestic performance well into the ₹100-crore range. That is what makes Hanuman Ansh a genuine sleeper hit. It was not front-loaded by hype or a massive opening weekend; the audience arrived later, and the film’s momentum built after release.
Why Neem Karoli Baba May Be the Film’s Biggest Advantage
Hanuman Ansh is based on the life and teachings of Neem Karoli Baba, also known as Maharaj Ji. Among his followers, he is revered as a spiritual figure associated with love, devotion and service. That gives the film access to an audience that does not necessarily behave like a conventional movie-going demographic.
Interest in Neem Karoli Baba also extends well beyond the film itself. The spiritual leader has long had a following among Indian and international devotees, while his association with figures such as Steve Jobs has contributed to his wider cultural visibility.
Director Vishal Chaturvedi has himself acknowledged that the saint’s existing following may have played a role in the film’s reception. “I feel Maharaj Ji’s name has tremendous power and influence. There was another film that came out two months before ours, which unfortunately did not work at the box office. Apart from that, two more projects have been announced. There is tremendous interest among people in Maharaj Ji’s personality and life, so that has definitely played a very big role. There is absolutely no doubt about that,” he told NDTV.
That does not prove that devotion alone drove the box office. It does, however, suggest that the film started with a community of people who already cared about its subject.
Celebrity Word of Mouth Gave the Film Another Push
As the film began gaining traction, celebrity endorsements added to its visibility. Preity Zinta shared her reaction after watching the film in a theatre, posting “Sita Ram” and “Wow” alongside a still from the movie and later encouraging followers not to miss it on the big screen. Varun Dhawan also said he watched the film with his mother and recommended it to his followers.
Virender Sehwag has spoken about his own long-standing connection with Neem Karoli Baba after watching the film, while Hema Malini and Talpade have publicly praised its success. These endorsements came after the film had already begun finding an audience, which is important. They appear to have amplified an existing wave of word of mouth rather than created it from scratch.
What Would ‘Tax-Free’ Mean for Hanuman Ansh?
Talpade has now backed calls for Hanuman Ansh to be made tax-free in Maharashtra. “I see no harm in that. If people like a movie and it is made tax-free, it will reach a wider audience. More people will watch it and appreciate it. It’s simple,” he said.
But “tax-free” cinema does not necessarily mean that every tax component on a movie ticket disappears. Under the GST framework, cinema admission is taxed, while Maharashtra has previously used a reimbursement mechanism for the state GST component on selected films. Under such arrangements, theatres reduce the effective ticket price by the amount of SGST and later claim reimbursement from the state.
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Maharashtra has granted similar benefits to films in the past, including Satyashodhak, Super 30, Mission Mangal, Panipat and Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. So, if Hanuman Ansh were granted a similar benefit, the practical effect would likely be a lower effective ticket price for audiences in Maharashtra rather than the film becoming literally free of every tax component.
Hanuman Ansh Is Now Going Global
There is another sign that the industry has taken notice: Hanuman Ansh is heading overseas. Hombale Films has come on board to distribute the film internationally through Hombale Overseas, with a worldwide theatrical release scheduled for September 11. The move is notable because the international distribution opportunity came after the film’s unexpected domestic success.
It also gives Hanuman Ansh an interesting second test. Its Indian run has shown that a relatively low-budget devotional film can build an audience slowly once viewers start talking about it. The overseas release will show whether that appeal travels beyond India’s existing devotional audience and the followers of Neem Karoli Baba.
For now, though, Hanuman Ansh has already achieved something most films spend their entire marketing campaigns trying to manufacture: it made people curious after release and gave them a reason to recommend it. That is perhaps the simplest explanation for why this ₹2-crore film became such a big hit. The audience arrived late, but when it did, it stayed.
