When Hanuman Ansh opened in theatres, it received only 355 shows on its opening day and earned ₹10 lakh. By the eighth day, the film had reportedly collected only ₹4 crore, leading to its being labelled a flop. However, its subsequent box-office performance surprised the film industry, film business observers and audiences alike.
Initially reported to have been made on a budget of around ₹2 crore, the film has recorded what has been described as a historic return on investment. Namrata Singh, one of the film's producers, has now provided details of its actual production and release expenses.
Speaking to The Economic Times, Singh said Hanuman Ansh was made at a production cost of ₹1.7 crore. Haldiram's, the Indian company, contributed ₹1.25 crore towards prints and advertising (P&A) under a co-production agreement.
Of the P&A budget, approximately ₹65 lakh to ₹70 lakh was spent on marketing, while the remaining amount went towards the film's release. The team wanted to ensure that the film remained in theatres for three weeks, which required an additional expenditure of more than ₹40 lakh. Including production and P&A expenses, the total cost came to approximately ₹2.95 crore, or nearly ₹3 crore.
Singh also explained how the film secured its initial funding. Ragini Sona, one of the producers, is a longtime friend of director Vishal Chaturvedi. The two had known each other for years, ran a Hanuman club and recited the Hanuman Chalisa together.
When the project required funding, Chaturvedi approached Sona. Singh described her as an experienced producer whose advice was valuable to the team. According to Singh, Sona offered to invest ₹50 lakh on the condition that another investor contributed an equal amount. When nobody else came forward, Singh invested ₹50 lakh from her mutual fund savings.
These contributions helped the team complete the film's production. However, additional funding was still required for post-production. Singh said Anupriya A Nagar, the daughter of UK-based financier Anshul Nagar, subsequently joined the project as an investor and financed the post-production work.
Singh further revealed that the shareholders had an agreement governing their respective interests in the project. The arrangement was structured around four individuals, each holding a 25% stake in the intellectual property (IP). The agreement also included a three-year lock-in period and certain other conditions.
With its production budget, marketing expenditure, release costs and funding arrangements now disclosed, Hanuman Ansh's reported box-office figures highlight the scale of its performance against its approximately ₹3 crore total expenditure. The film has reached the latter stages of its theatrical run after collecting ₹340.13 crore net domestically and ₹449.99 crore in worldwide gross revenue over 74 days.
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