Who Is Anupriya Nagar? The 21-Year-Old Producer Behind Hanuman Ansh’s ₹150 Crore Success

At just 21, Anupriya Nagar has found herself at the centre of one of 2026’s most unexpected box-office stories. The economics graduate helped produce Hanuman Ansh, a film inspired by the life and spiritual journey of Neem Karoli Baba, and says her decision to back the project had little to do with commercial calculations.

According to the figures cited in her interview, Hanuman Ansh crossed ₹150 crore in gross domestic box-office collections and stood at around ₹156 crore in India as of September 9. What makes the achievement particularly striking is the film’s slow opening and sharp drop in theatrical shows before a dramatic turnaround driven largely by word of mouth.

For Nagar, however, the numbers were never the main objective. She describes the project as her seva—an act of service and devotion—and says her larger goal was to introduce younger audiences to Neem Karoli Baba through his own story rather than through his association with internationally known personalities.

From an Economics Degree in the UK to Film Production

Nagar was pursuing a BSc (Hons) in Economics at the University of Bath in the UK and graduated last year. During her final year, an assignment for an investment and trading module unexpectedly took her in a very different direction.

While researching how entrepreneurs developed ideas and built businesses, she came across articles discussing Neem Karoli Baba’s reported influence on Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

The connection immediately caught her attention.

Nagar said she wondered why she was learning about an Indian spiritual figure through a foreign personality rather than through the saint’s own life and teachings. She began asking friends about Neem Karoli Baba and discovered that many of them were unfamiliar with his story.

At the time, filmmaking was not part of her plans. She had secured a job with an art administration company in Zurich, Switzerland, and intended to build her career there after completing her studies.

A Family Connection Changed Her Plans

Nagar returned to India while dealing with her visa arrangements and met a family friend who was already involved in Hanuman Ansh as one of its producers.

When Nagar discussed her growing interest in Neem Karoli Baba, she learned that the team had already completed filming a movie based on his life and was seeking funds for post-production.

She asked to read the screenplay.

The script, which she described as roughly 120 pages, left such an impression on her that she read it in one sitting. Nagar then asked how she could contribute to the project.

Although filming had already wrapped, the production needed financial support for post-production. Nagar decided to invest her savings from part-time jobs she had undertaken in the UK.

She has stressed that she did not view the investment as a conventional business decision.

‘It Was My Seva’: Why Nagar Invested Her Savings

According to Nagar, Hanuman Ansh was made on a relatively modest budget of between ₹1.5 crore and ₹2 crore, with her investment accounting for around one-third of the total.

Rather than focusing on a potential return, she saw the contribution as an act of devotion.

Her stated objective was to make Neem Karoli Baba’s story accessible to people who may know of Kainchi Dham because of celebrity visits but may not know the spiritual figure behind the place.

Nagar has described Neem Karoli Baba as a global figure and even compared him with a superhero. She said she wanted audiences to discover him through his own journey rather than primarily through his connection to celebrities or foreign personalities.

That motivation, she believes, was more important than the possibility of making money from the film.

Hanuman Ansh Had a Surprisingly Slow Start

The film’s eventual success was not immediately apparent.

Nagar said Hanuman Ansh was being described as a flop when its initial theatrical performance remained weak. She recalled the film’s shows falling from roughly 300 screens to around 30 at one point.

The numbers cited in the interview show how steep the challenge was. The film reportedly collected only around ₹1.5 crore during its first two weeks, while its number of shows fell dramatically from hundreds at the beginning to just a few dozen.

Instead of worrying about losing her investment, Nagar said she was disappointed that audiences were not getting an opportunity to watch the film.

Then the trajectory changed.

Word of Mouth Became the Film’s Biggest Marketing Tool

Nagar credits the audience almost entirely for the film’s turnaround.

She said the team had virtually no marketing budget and did not launch an elaborate promotional campaign when the film was struggling. According to her, exhibitors were also more inclined to allocate screens to competing releases featuring established actors, directors and filmmakers.

Hanuman Ansh, by comparison, was a project in which many members of the team were working on a feature film for the first time.

The film eventually received a significant boost from word of mouth. Nagar recalled being told that only a miracle could save it after its theatrical presence had shrunk.

She said collections subsequently began rising and continued to increase through the later weeks of its run.

By September 9, the film was being reported at around ₹156 crore gross in India.

Why Nagar Thinks Young Audiences Are Connecting With Devotional Cinema

For Nagar, the success of Hanuman Ansh reflects a wider appetite for stories rooted in Indian spirituality and culture.

She believes many young Indians have limited exposure to traditional stories about saints, gurus and India’s spiritual heritage. Films, she argues, can become an accessible way of closing that gap.

One aspect she finds particularly significant is the film’s reported appeal across generations. She described seeing audiences ranging from young children to elderly viewers watching the film together.

Nagar also pointed to the broader commercial performance of spiritually themed films such as Laalo—Krishna Sada Sahaayate and the animated Mahavatar Narsimha as evidence that there is an audience for stories built around faith, mythology and emotion.

Her hope is that more filmmakers and production houses will explore this space.

Aiming to Bring Indian Spiritual Stories to Children

Nagar’s interest in younger audiences extends beyond the film itself.

She revealed that she had considered creating a comic book about Neem Karoli Baba when she was around 20. Her intention was to give children another way of engaging with the story.

Although the comic has not yet materialised, she said the idea remains on her mind.

She also wants to use the success of Hanuman Ansh to establish a foundation focused on children. According to Nagar, she hopes to support education and healthcare initiatives and give back to society.

Could There Be a Hanuman Ansh Sequel?

The film’s ending leaves room for another instalment, and Nagar acknowledged that a sequel is possible.

However, she said the team has not yet made a final decision. For now, the producers are focused on ensuring that the success of the first film is handled responsibly.

Nagar also suggested that the audience’s response has increased the responsibility attached to a potential follow-up.

If a second film is made, she wants the team to put the same level of effort into it rather than rushing to capitalise on the first film’s success.

Nagar Says She Is Staying in India—for Now

The unexpected success of Hanuman Ansh has also changed Nagar’s immediate career plans.

The young producer had previously expected to move to Switzerland for her job after completing her economics degree. Asked whether she would now return to that career path, she said that, for the time being, she plans to remain in India.

Her immediate priorities include setting up her foundation and continuing her work in cinema.

She has also expressed an interest in documenting her own journey in a book, particularly because she believes young women remain underrepresented in film production and direction.

For Nagar, Hanuman Ansh therefore represents more than an unexpected box-office hit. It is the project that redirected her from an economics career and a planned life in Switzerland toward filmmaking, cultural storytelling and social work.

The film’s remarkable recovery may have made her a producer to watch, but her stated ambition goes beyond chasing another hit: she wants to use cinema to bring India’s spiritual and cultural stories to audiences around the world.