Hanuman Ansh, made on a budget of Rs 2 crore and based on the life and teachings of spiritual leader Neem Karoli Baba, has emerged as a surprise success at the box office. Now, producer Ragini Sona has opened up about the film’s difficult theatrical journey, revealing how Hanuman Ansh was almost out of theatres after its screen count took a sharp hit in the second week following the arrival of Emraan Hashmi’s Awarapan 2 and Yash-starrer Toxic, and how the team fought to keep the film running.
Hanuman Ansh Was Almost Out Of Theatres
Speaking to SCREEN, Ragini Sona said that the film’s first week was largely as expected, with Hanuman Ansh releasing across 350 theatres. However, in the second week, the film’s screen count dropped sharply to just 25-30 theatres following the release of two big films, Awarapan 2 and Toxic. Despite the steep drop in screens, the film’s business did not decline, which gave the team hope. Still, they were divided over whether to continue its theatrical run.
Team Decided To Continue Despite Theatre Losses
Further, she shared that she and director Vishal Chaturvedi decided at the last moment to continue the film’s theatrical run and informed their distributors, who agreed to support the decision. It took them some time to convince everyone else, but they eventually received their approval and went ahead with more theatres the following week.
She added that the team also made a small additional investment, calculating that the expenses would be covered if the film continued for another week. The film did continue for another week, which she described as the turning point in its theatrical journey.
‘Never Thought We Would Survive Opposite Toxic’
Ragini, “We never wanted Toxic to do badly. We wanted all films to have a good run because if Toxic does well, it is the film industry that will collectively gain. This was our wish. This Toxic vs Hanuman Ansh was created by the people, and the media. But we never thought that we would be able to survive even one day opposite Toxic. We thought that our film will work steadily alongside Toxic and this will be our journey together.”
Hanuman Ansh, released on August 7, has grossed over Rs 316.30 crore worldwide by its 43rd day of release.