Hanuman Ansh, which has emerged as a surprise blockbuster of the year, missed the deadline to be considered as India’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars. Producer Namrata Singh has revealed that the team was unaware of the submission deadline, as it was busy handling the film’s international release, Telugu dubbing and other post-release work.

The film, based on the life and teachings of spiritual guru Neem Karoli Baba, was made on a reported budget of Rs 2 crore and has grossed around Rs 205 crore at the box office.

‘We missed the Oscar submission deadline’

In a conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Namrata revealed that the team missed the deadline to submit the film for consideration as India’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars.

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“We missed the Oscar submission deadline for consideration as India’s official entry for Best International Feature Film. We got calls from a thousand people saying that you haven’t submitted the film. But we didn’t know about it. We are busy with too many things. Also, we are a really small team.”

She explained that the team has been occupied with the film’s Telugu dubbing, plans for other languages and accessibility initiatives.

She continued, “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, produced by Namrata Singh and directed by Vishal Chaturvedi, was released internationally by Homable Production on September 11. It is now set to arrive in Telugu across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on September 18, 2026.

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Hanuman Ansh was always planned as a trilogy

In an earlier conversation, the producer also revealed that the team had envisioned Hanuman Ansh as a trilogy since the beginning. While the first instalment focuses on Neem Karoli Baba’s early years and his connection with Kainchi Dham in Uttarakhand, the second film is expected to explore that chapter of his life in greater depth. The next instalment’s story will begin in Firozabad, his birthplace, before moving to Agra, Mathura and other places closely associated with him.

However, work on the next instalment will take some time as the team plans to take a break after an intense production and release schedule.

“Nothing is written yet. It’ll take a couple of months for the team to calibrate. We need to take a break before that. We haven’t done that in one-and-a-half years. We thought we’ll get a respite after release, but now our days are long! So, we’ll at least take 90 days to resume work,” said Namrata.

The third film in the planned trilogy will expand the story to a global scale and explore Neem Karoli Baba’s influence outside India.

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“The third film will focus on how he (Neem Karoli Baba) put India on the global map by spiritual energy that he transferred to the foreigners, be it Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, Julia Roberts, etc.,” added Namrata.

From films to games and comic books

The team is also looking beyond films as it plans to expand the Hanuman Ansh universe into other forms of entertainment.

She added, “We are also developing a game. It’s made by the company which has developed FAU-G. We are also working on a comic book, for which we are talking to one of the biggest comic book publishers in the country.”

Hanuman Ansh box office journey

Hanuman Ansh had an unusually slow start before turning into a major box-office success. The film opened on August 7 with an estimated collection of Rs 10 lakh. Its earnings remained in the lakh range during the first two weeks.

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The turnaround came in the third week. On Day 17, the film crossed the Rs 2 crore mark, collecting approximately Rs 2.2 crore in a single day. From Day 21 onwards, the film’s box-office performance picked up significantly.

The film’s gross collection now stands at Rs 205.15 crore.

About Hanuman Ansh

Hanuman Ansh is inspired by the life and teachings of Neem Karoli Baba, also known as Maharaj-ji. The devotional drama explores themes of faith, compassion, love, devotion and selfless service.

Neem Karoli Baba, whose birth name was Lakshman Narayan Sharma, became one of India’s prominent spiritual figures. His ashram at Kainchi Dham in Uttarakhand continues to attract devotees from across India and abroad.

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His teachings have also drawn attention internationally, with personalities including Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Julia Roberts having spoken about or been associated with his influence over the years.