The road to the Academy Awards is paved with rigorous deadlines, complex logistical hurdles, and a fair amount of bureaucratic maneuvering. For a film that has taken the Indian box office by storm, the path to the Oscars—or rather, the missed exit—has become the talk of the town. Despite crossing the coveted Rs 200 crore mark domestically, the spiritual odyssey Hanuman Ansh will not be representing India at the 2027 Oscars.
While some corners of the internet were quick to speculate about potential rejection or strategic omission, producer Namrata Singh has stepped forward to clear the air. The reason, she admits, is far more human: they simply ran out of time.
The Reality of a “Small Team” in a Global Arena
In an industry often associated with sprawling production houses and armies of PR agents, Hanuman Ansh has been something of an outlier. When the September 7 deadline for the Best International Feature Film submission arrived, the team found themselves paralyzed not by indifference, but by the overwhelming weight of their own success.
“We got calls from a thousand people asking why we didn’t submit the film,” Namrata Singh shared in a candid interview with Bollywood Hungama. “But we didn’t know about it. We are busy with too many things. Also, we are a really small team.”
For independent filmmakers, the reality of managing a sleeper hit—which has currently clocked in at a staggering Rs 229.26 crore in India gross—is a far cry from the glamorous perception of blockbuster maintenance. The team has been playing a high-stakes game of Tetris: balancing regional dubbing schedules, accessibility initiatives for differently-abled audiences, and coordinating extensive promotional tours for the cast and director. In the quiet halls of their production office, the administrative side of the awards race simply slipped through the cracks.
A Story of Persistence: From OTT Rejection to Box Office Gold
The film’s journey to the big screen was never meant to be easy. Director Vishal Chaturvedi, who also produced the project, has been vocal about the initial resistance he faced from traditional gatekeepers. Before the film became a household name, Chaturvedi attempted to pitch the story of Neem Karoli Baba to major streaming platforms, hoping for a direct-to-digital debut.
The rejection he received was blunt, with executives reportedly questioning whether the story held enough “international relevance.” That dismissal, rather than acting as a deterrent, served as the fuel for the film’s eventual triumph. Choosing to bypass the streaming giants, Chaturvedi took the story to the theaters. The move paid off in ways few could have predicted, proving that audiences were hungry for a narrative deeply rooted in Indian spirituality, even if the industry’s “experts” weren’t sure how to package it.
The Numbers Speak Louder Than Awards
While the Academy may not be seeing Hanuman Ansh this year, the Indian public certainly has. Even on its 38th day of release, the film continues to post numbers that would make mid-budget studio projects envious. According to industry trackers like Sacnilk, the film continues to outpace new releases, maintaining a firm grip on cinema screens across the country.
The focus now remains squarely on expansion. With the Telugu version set to launch on September 18—a release that holds special significance as it coincides with the Mahasamadhi Day of Neem Karoli Baba—the team is prioritizing physical reach over awards campaigning. “First, we have done dubbing for Telugu and then work on the rest of the languages,” Singh noted. “There’s hardly anyone in the office; everyone is on tour.”
Dispelling the Myths of Massive OTT Deals
Success, as always, breeds gossip. As the film’s earnings climbed, rumors began to circulate suggesting that Hanuman Ansh had landed a massive Rs 100 crore OTT deal. Producer Ragini Sona, however, has been quick to douse these fires.
Dismissing the reports as mere speculation, Sona emphasized that the film’s primary life is still unfolding in theaters. By staying in the cinema, the team avoids the premature “streaming death” that many films suffer today, where they lose their cultural momentum the moment they hit a digital library. The priority remains on the theater-going experience, keeping the film a live, evolving project rather than a static asset to be sold off to a platform.
Why Neem Karoli Baba’s Story Struck a Nerve
At the heart of the frenzy is a simple, meditative story. Written and directed by Vishal Chaturvedi, the film tracks the evolution of Lakshmi Narayan, a boy in pre-Independence India who sets out in search of the divine following the death of his mother. His transformation into the legendary Neem Karoli Baba is captured with an aesthetic that resonated with a cross-section of Indian society.
Chaturvedi’s own questions regarding why this story hadn’t been told on the big screen sooner strike at the core of the film’s success. By tapping into a cultural consciousness that is often underserved by modern commercial cinema, Hanuman Ansh filled a void.
The Oscars may be a prestigious institution, but for the team behind Hanuman Ansh, the last two months have provided a different kind of validation. They haven’t just cleared their investment; they have built a movement. While a golden statue would have been a nice addition to the shelf, the team seems content with the reality of their success: a film that is still running, still being dubbed, and still being discovered by audiences across the nation. For now, in the race between the red carpet and the theater seat, Hanuman Ansh has firmly chosen the latter.
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