Hanuman Ansh director Vishal Chaturvedi recalls OTT rejection as film crosses ₹80 cr mark: ‘It was derogatory’
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Vishal Chaturvedi's directorial Hanuman Ansh has worked a miracle of sorts at the ticket-window. The movie, which no one was talking about until a while ago, picked up pace at the ticket-window , so much so that it has now crossed the ₹ 80 crore rupees mark. While many are celebrating the movie's success today, its director opened up that he faced rejection when he pitched the movie to an OTT platform.
Adding to this, Vishal Chaturvedi spoke about Hanuman Ansh. 'The language they used was derogatory' In conversation with India TV, he recalled, “I had gone to pitch my story on an OTT platform, and there they told me that I have an Indian story with international relevance. I narrated Maharaj Ji’s story in such a way that I literally broke down."
Meanwhile, Vishal recalled that the platform rejected his movie, but he found the manner in which they did so derogatory and insulting. He also shared that as a filmmaker he is used to rejections but there is a way to reject someone's project.
Notably, He shared, "Mujhe laga jis tarah unhone reject kiya, jis bhaasha ka prayog kiya, woh thodi derogatory thi (The way they rejected, the language they used to reject me was derogatory). The way they shared it, I felt that the narrative in their mind, the way they rejected it, there is a hole in their mind through the narrative. Now it is necessary to bust that narrative. We are filmmakers, we have been rejected a thousand times. You narrate a story and if you don’t understand it, you say that it is good, but we will do it later."
As per the latest buzz, Hanuman Ansh, which rolled out in theatres on August 7, had a slow start at the ticket-window, earning merely ₹ 10 lakh on its opening day. The movie collected around ₹ 1.80 crore rupees in its first week of rollout and just ₹ 40 lakh in its second week.
In further updates, However, the movie witnessed a major turnaround in its third week, driven by strong word of mouth. Footfalls began increasing steadily, with shows eventually turning into house-full screenings. The movie saw a tremendous rise in its collections, minting ₹ 10.40 crore rupees in its third week. Its box-office momentum continued into the fourth week, when it collected ₹ 61 crore rupees. The movie's India gross collection now stands at ₹ 96.03 crore rupees, while its total India net collection has reached ₹ 81.41 crore rupees.
On top of that, The devotional drama Hanuman Ansh is based on the life of spiritual guru Neem Karoli Baba. The movie is written, directed and produced by Dr Vishal Chaturvedi, and stars Shobhinaw Satyaa in the lead role.
Vibha Maru is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Entertainment, based in Delhi. With a decade of experience across digital and print media, she covers Bollywood, Hollywood and web shows. A self-confessed cinephile who breathes Hindi cinema, Vibha can often be found sacrificing sleep after binge-watching films and web series. Though she holds a Commerce degree, she discovered her true calling in journalism after enrolling at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). She began her career covering Delhi's cultural scene, food, nightlife, concerts, and city life at The Times of India, before moving into full-time entertainment journalism with India Today. At India Today, Vibha interviewed some of the biggest names in Bollywood and television while carving a niche for herself through movie reviews, opinion pieces, nostalgic features, star interviews, and trend-driven stories. She later brought her storytelling and editorial expertise to The Indian Express, where she continued to deepen her understanding of cinema through long-form entertainment explainers, retrospectives and feature writing. Now, as Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times Entertainment, Vibha continues to chronicle the world of movies and pop culture. Her work spans breaking entertainment news, exclusive interviews, star features, and stories that capture the conversations shaping Indian cinema. Read More
Source: Hindustan Times