Taran Adarsh sees a striking parallel between Hanuman Ansh and the 1975 devotional blockbuster Jai Santoshi Maa. Recalling how audiences once flocked to theatres to watch Jai Santoshi Maa with a deep sense of devotion—even removing their footwear and praying during the film—Adarsh says he recently witnessed a similar response to Hanuman Ansh. For him, the sight of audiences watching the film barefoot reflects an extraordinary level of faith and emotional connection rarely seen in cinemas today.
What factors have contributed to the success of Hanuman Ansh?
See, the film didn’t really work in the first two weeks. The first week was very low, and in the second week, it dipped into a total disaster—it was almost finished. But from the third week, the word-of-mouth caught on. In fact, during the first two weeks, word-of-mouth had slowly started spreading, but in the second week, it didn’t get enough theaters because Awarapan 2 and Batwara 1947 came out. And then, of course, two weeks later, Toxic also arrived.
So it was always surrounded by big films and didn’t get a chance. But when word-of-mouth spread, people were running to the cinemas to watch the film. If you notice the jump that came in the third week, and now in the fourth weekend, it’s unbelievable! Such a jump in today’s time is a rarity.
Besides word-of-mouth, somewhere or another, I think it’s also divine blessings. When you make a film with a lot of sincerity and the audience connects with that sincerity, then it works. Otherwise, so many spiritual, devotional, action, or musical films are made, but the audience has to connect with it. If they don’t, it’s a problem.
Hanuman Ansh has a first-time director, a first-time actor, and the cost of production is barely 2 crores, with negligible P&A expenses and no pre-release promotions either.
The film is going beyond metros into Tier-2 and Tier-3 centers, and they are slowly opening up now. Obviously, Spider-Man, Batwara, Toxic—all these big films were given preference, and everyone underestimated Hanuman Ansh. But look at the collections today! It is the number one film at the current status.
Have you ever seen a case study like this before?
Yes. Jai Santoshi Maa (1975) came out back then, and it was surrounded by biggies, including Sholay at that time. Also, releases weren’t simultaneous then; they were scattered or deferred—today here, and a week or a month and a half later somewhere else.
I still remember going to the theater with my family and mother to watch that film. People were removing their slippers and shoes outside the single-screen theater, taking thalis inside, and praying during songs like “Main Toh Aarti Utaaru Re Santoshi Mata Ki” or when Santoshi Mata appeared on screen.
Just yesterday on Instagram, I saw people removing their shoes and sitting barefoot on their seats in theaters while watching Hanuman Ansh! I felt really good seeing that level of respect being given. It’s an overwhelming response to the film.
