Hanuman Ansh

Hanuman Ansh
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Vishal Chaturvedi
Produced by	Ragini S Namrata G. Singh Anupriya A Nagar Dr Vishal Chaturvedi
Written by	Vishal Chaturvedi
Based on	Divine Detour: That Changed My Life by Vishal Chaturvedi
Starring	Shobhit Srivastava (aka Shobhinaw Satyaa) Chandan Anand Purnima Tiwari Vihaan Shedge
Music by	Sadhu Sushil Tiwari
Cinematography	Vishal Bawa
Edited by	Shankh Rajadhyaksha
Production company	SWAMbhu Media Network Holy Cow Home Productions
Distributed by	Cinépolis (India) Panorama Studios (Delhi-UP only) Hombale Films (Overseas)
Release date	7 August 2026 (2026-08-07) (India) 11 September 2026 (2026-09-11) (Overseas)
Running time	150 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹2 crore
Box office	₹188.42 crore

Hanuman Ansh (transl. Fragment Of Hanuman) is a 2026 Indian Hindi-language biographical devotional drama film written, directed, and produced by Dr Vishal Chaturvedi under his banner, Swambhu Media Network. The film is the first instalment of the film trilogy based on his book "Divine Detour: That Changed My Life", which chronicles the life of Neem Karoli Baba. It stars Shobhit Srivastava and Chandan Anand in the lead roles while Anil Rastogi, Sugandha Malhotra, Bhagvandas Patel, Neha Paranjpe, Uday sinh Rajput, Purnima Tiwari and Gautam Tripathi in supporting roles.⁣ The first film follows the early life of young boy Lakshmi Narayan, in pre-Independence India, who leaves home after the death of his mother in search of God, and his subsequent journey through North India and transformation into Neem Karoli Baba.

Vishal Bawa handled the cinematography, while Shankh Rajadhyaksha handled the editing. The sound was designed by Shishir Chousalkar and Mayur Mohanan, while the visual effects were handled by Pankaj Vashisht. The film was released theatrically on 7 August 2026 and emerged as a surprise blockbuster. It is the "most profitable Indian film of all time", as it was made with a budget of ₹2 crore.

It is the 7th highest-grossing Hindi film of 2026.

Plot

Lakshminarayan Sharma, aged thirteen, leaves his hometown of Akbarpur in the Braj region after the death of his mother, the only woman he loved, believing that only divine love can reunite them. Rather than pursuing asceticism, he seeks union with Rama through Hanuman. At a Vaishnava temple in Rajkot, Gujarat, the old Mahant recognises his spiritual inclination and tests him. Lakshman remains quiet and unassuming, rejecting comfort and praise before leaving, suggesting that religious institutions can themselves become forms of bondage.

For years, Lakshman wanders, meditating beneath trees, sleeping beside rivers, and living on alms. He learns about spirituality through nature and, on one occasion, remains underwater so long that villagers believe he has drowned before he resurfaces. At twenty-five, he boards a passenger train to Britain in first class without a ticket. A colonial official orders him off the train, but after Lakshman leaves, it mysteriously refuses to move despite officials finding no mechanical fault. The railway manager concludes that Lakshman's removal may be responsible. Everyone, including the Britisher, apologises, and Lakshman agrees to return, forgiving them and producing four first-class tickets seemingly from nowhere.

He demands that no saint in India be removed from a train for lacking a ticket and that a railway station be built for local residents. The station, later known as Neem Karori Station in present-day Farrukhabad district, becomes associated with him, and Lakshman is thereafter called Neem Karoli Baba. A villager recognises him as a former resident of Braj and informs his father, who finds him and asks him to return home, saying that his wife is waiting. Reluctantly following his father's advice to fulfil his responsibilities, like Lord Ram, Lakshman returns home and ensures his wife has enough food while he is away. He later returns to Neebkarori but leaves after a dispute with the landowner of the temple site, travelling to Kainchi mountain near Nainital. There, he helps a frightened man who has lost his way at night; when the man recites the Hanuman Chalisa, Maharaj ji appears and guides him safely. The film ends by hinting at a sequel.

Cast

• Shobhinaw Satyaa as Lakshman Das / Neem Karoli Baba
• Chandan K Anand as Ram Nandan Bhosale
• Anil Rastogi as Mahant Ji
• Sugandha Malhotra as Sudhi
• Bhagvandas Patel as Gopal
• Neha Paranjpe as Parvati
• Udaysinh Rajput as Banshidhar
• Purnima Tiwari as Ram Beti
• Gautam Tripathi as Radheshyam
• Gulshan Pandey as Inspector Dharam Singh
• Rajiv Mishra as Daroga Nasir Khan
• Rishikesh Dubey as Poornanand Tiwari
• Vihaan Shedge as Maharaj Ji Teen
• Sadvik Sharma as Shubhankar
• Aleksei Danilov as Mr Francis
• Santosh Dixit as Hariram
• Brijpal Singh as Shankar
• Yash Pandey as Hiren
• Aman Mehta as Champaklal
• Rajnish Srivastava as Jagdish
• Abhishek Mishra as Chand Chor (thief)

Production

Hanuman Ansh Crowd dubbing team at Recording Studio, Mumbai, June 2026

The film is the first instalment of a planned trilogy series inspired by director Dr Vishal Chaturvedi's own spiritual memoir, "Divine Detour: That Changed My Life". In an interview, Chaturvedi said that his research began informally around 2009 and became more systematic in 2016–17, before expanding further during 2022–23, and took to various places associated with Baba, including Vrindavan, Akbarpur, Neeb Karori, and Lucknow. The final screenplay primarily drew upon stories he collected and accounts documented in books and other sources. It was officially launched with the theatrical poster being unveiled at [[Kainchi Dham, "नीम करोली बाबा पर आधारित 'हनुमान अंश' का पोस्टर हुआ रिलीज, 'डिवाइन डेटूर' से प्रेरित है फिल्म; जानें रिलीज डेट". Amar Ujala (in हिन्दी). Retrieved 20 February 2026., which happens to be the main ashram of Neem Karoli Baba, sometime in the beginning of 2026.

The film was made on a budget of ₹2 crore , though some reports place the production cost at ₹1.8 crore. ⁣ rincipal photography took place in November 2025, mainly in [[Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh|Chitrakoot, "'हनुमान अंश' में बाबा नीम करौली के भक्त बने प्रयाग के गौतम". Hindustan (in हिन्दी). 1 September 2026. Retrieved 1 September 2026. </ref> including the opening scene, which was shot in Punjabi Baba Ashram in Chitrakoot, as well as key sequences like the installation of a Hanuman idol and the construction of Baba's cave. Some of the shooting also took place in Mumbai, [[Maharashtra. In the first schedule itself, the original unnamed actor for the leading role fell ill. Shobhinaw Satyaa, who was the film's second assistant director at the time, auditioned for the role and was subsequently cast in the leading role of Neem Karoli Baba, replacing the original unnamed actor.

Music

The soundtrack of Hanuman Ansh consists of multiple devotional tracks. Key songs released include:

Hanuman Ansh soundtrack (2026)

Song	Singer(s)	Music by	Lyrics by
Aavagaman	Sadhu S. Tiwari	Sadhu S. Tiwari	Traditional (arranged by Sadhu S. Tiwari)
Saasa Haale	Sadhu S. Tiwari	Sadhu S. Tiwari	Traditional
Zid Pe Aa Gayi Parvati	Sadhu S. Tiwari	Sadhu S. Tiwari	Sadhu S. Tiwari
Maine Tere Hi Bharose	Sunil Lodhi	Traditional (folk)	Traditional
Jai Hanuman	Shreyas Dharmadhikari	Rishi Pathak	Shreyas Dharmadhikari, Rishi Pathak
Ram Bhajan Ki Or	Nivedita Padmanabhan	Rishi Pathak	Rishi Pathak
Bajrang Baanka	Sadhu S. Tiwari	Sadhu S. Tiwari	Traditional
Vaishnav Jan To	Rishi Pathak	Rishi Pathak	Traditional
Hey Kharari	Sadhu S. Tiwari	Sadhu S. Tiwari	Sadhu S. Tiwari
Om Namah Shivaya	Krishna Das	Krishna Das	Jeff Kagel
Shri Ram Jai Ram	Krishna Das	Krishna Das	Jeff Kagel
Hriday Mein Jinke Sita Ram	Vishal Chaturvedi	Dhirendra Mulkalwar	Vishal Chaturvedi

Release

Hanuman Ansh was scheduled to be released in theatres in India on 31 July 2026, but it was postponed and released on 7 August 2026. The film was released in Hindi, with subtitles in the Braj and Bundeli languages. Cinépolis India is the film's distributor in India. The first-look posters and teaser were released through the film's official social media accounts. The official trailer was released on 18 July 2026 on the Times Music YouTube channel.

The film was released in overseas markets on 11 September 2026, with Hombale Films handling its international distribution.

Reception

The film had a weak initial theatrical opening alongside Awarapan 2 and Batwara 1947., as it opened in approximately 250 theatres and made Rs 90 lakh in the first week. However, subsequently, it gained audiences primarily through word of mouth and the face competition from Toxic, and after 3 weeks, the film was declared a "surprise box office success." The film opened on approximately 250 screens, which reduced to around 40 screens in its second week. Gradually as the audience demand increased, distributor Cinepolis India progressively expanded its release to over 2,000 screens across India. By 1 September, the film's domestic total had risen to ₹48.78 crore net and ₹57.54 crore gross. On September 3, Hombale Films acquired the international distribution rights for the film, with its overseas release scheduled for 11 September 2026.

Hanuman Ansh has become the highest theatrical return on investment of all time, along with another devotional film, "Jai Santoshi Maa" (1975). The film was made on a budget of approximately ₹2 crore; the film crossed ₹100 crore at the domestic box office, earning more than 50 times its production budget, making it the most profitable Indian film of all time. The film earned over ₹48 crore in its fifth weekend and became the highest earner, beating Dhurandhar: The Revenge.

On September 5, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami watched the film in Dehradun, and subsequently the film was made tax-free in the state.

Sequel

The film was planned as a trilogy, and the first film ends with an indication that the story of Neem Karoli Baba will continue. In August 2026, Chaturvedi confirmed that work on the second installment had already begun, which will cover the periods associated with Agra and Mathura, while the first installment covered Neem Karoli Baba's early life, starting in Firozabad until his youth.

See also

• Kainchi Dham
• Sankat Mochan Temple

External links

• Hanuman Ansh on IMDb
• Hanuman Ansh at Rotten Tomatoes
• Hanuman Ansh at Bollywood Hungama