Hanuman Ansh, a film based on Neem Karoli Baba, has become the talk of the town. Not just because it is centred on the famous saint, who has followers across the country, but because of the extraordinary journey the film has had since its release. Made on a reported budget of under Rs 2 crore, the film has now crossed the Rs 100 crore mark, making its theatrical journey particularly notable.

What makes the story even more interesting is that the film’s producer is 21-year-old Anupriya Nagar, who had never planned to make a film. She was comfortably pursuing a degree in Economics in the UK when something brought her back to India and eventually led her to the film’s director, Vishal Chaturvedi. And the unlikely starting point of her journey was Steve Jobs, the late Apple co-founder.

With Hanuman Ansh gaining immense popularity in its fourth week, Anupriya has opened up about her unusual journey in several interviews.

Speaking to Doordarshan, she said, “It was a risk to make a film on Maharaj Ji, but to be honest, it was never my intention to make it for box office collections. I am glad that people are loving it and watching it. I am just 21, I don’t even know what I will do with so much money.”

How Steve Jobs led Anupriya Nagar to Neem Karoli Baba

Revealing more about her background, Anupriya told ABP Live that making a film was never part of her plans. She had completed her education in the UK and was preparing to move to Switzerland for a job in the art industry.

“I have done my graduation in Economics from the UK. I was there for three years. I just graduated last year. It was never part of my plan to make a film or return to India. I was planning to shift to Switzerland, where I had bagged a great job in the art industry because I have grown up among art all my life.”

Recalling how she ended up producing a film on Neem Karoli Baba, Anupriya said that she discovered the saint while researching technology companies and their founders during her final year in college.

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“In my final year in college, I was researching several tech companies. I was researching where founders of Apple, Meta got these ideas from. While reading one such article, I found out that Neem Karoli Baba had influenced Steve Jobs, who at Kainchi Dham came up with the idea of making the world’s colour computer. Reading that article, I wondered why I was getting information about an Indian saint from a foreigner? That triggered me to do more research on that.”

She initially considered turning her research into a book or comic book. However, things changed after she returned to India.

“I first thought to write a book or comic book. I was just 20. But when I came to India, I came across Vishal Chaturvedi, who was making a film on Neem Karoli Baba. It was all unplanned — pure coincidence,” she added.

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‘Maharaj Ji has blessed us with a lot’

The film’s phenomenal box-office performance has also brought significant financial returns for its young producer. However, Anupriya said that profit was never her primary motivation.

“Maharaj Ji has blessed us with a lot since the very beginning. I didn’t really expect to earn any profit from this film. Yet, he has blessed us with so much with this film. I want to make use of this money to help underprivileged kids and do charity,” she said.

Talking about how the film’s fortunes changed almost overnight, Anupriya recalled that it was initially written off by the industry.

“After the first week, the industry had announced our film as a flop. Our morale was down that our film didn’t reach people. It is a miracle that it turned overnight and, secondly, the viewers and influencers with word-of-mouth have helped make it a phenomenon,” she said.

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Two more parts of Hanuman Ansh planned

Anupriya also revealed that the team has two more parts planned in the Hanuman Ansh franchise, although discussions around their scale and budget are yet to begin.

“We believe that the film is doing good because we had a limited budget. If we had more, maybe the outcome wouldn’t have been the same. Speaking about the upcoming parts of it, we are yet to sit down and talk about it. We haven’t really found the time yet with the film doing so well. We are yet to figure out OTT and satellite,” she said.

Talking about how the film was financed, Anupriya said, “We are three producers who, along with co-producers, financially helped the film. There were multiple obstacles, but they were getting solved one after another because of Maharaj Ji. All of us are Maharaj Ji’s devotees.”

Who is Hanuman Ansh producer Anupriya Nagar?

Apart from holding a degree in Economics, Anupriya has also been an artist and comes from a family of art collectors and said she grew up around artists and art. She has also held multiple exhibitions.

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“I have grown up around the biggest of the biggest names — Jagdish Swaminathan, MF Husain, Gaitonde to Raza. I have grown up around this because my family is an art collector. So storytelling has always been a part of my life,” she said.

She added that the success of Hanuman Ansh has made her family extremely proud.

Recalling the difference in her father’s reaction before and after the film’s success, Anupriya said, “When I first told him that I am making a film, my dad was like… ‘You are studying Economics. How are you going to get into this industry?’ But when I told him it was on Neem Karoli Baba, he immediately agreed. They are so proud today.”

Anupriya Nagar recalls meeting Premanand Maharaj

In the same interview, Anupriya also recalled meeting Premanand Maharaj and said he advised the team not to dramatise or “spice up” the story.

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“I was fortunate to meet him. It was after the film’s shoot. I asked him that we are making a film for society, will that be considered a seva? He said it is a good thing to make a film with a good cause. But he told us to be aware of the responsibility that comes with the film and its theme. He said, ‘Don’t dramatise it and make sure the casting is good and don’t add anything unrealistic to the film.'”

Hanuman Ansh’s total 30 day collection stands at Rs 100.91 crore.