Author: Saurav Pandey
Publication: Moneycontrol.com
Date: September 3, 2026
URL:    https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/anupriya-nagar-economist-turned-film-producer-behind-hanuman-ansh-which-grossed-rs-72-crore-on-rs-2-crore-budget-14021682.html

At 21, Anupriya Nagar has moved from studying economics at the University of Bath in the UK to producing a feature film that has emerged as one of the surprise box-office performers of 2026.

Her debut production, Hanuman Ansh, inspired by the life of spiritual figure Neem Karoli Baba, opened in theatres on August 7 with a modest Rs 10 lakh on its first day. Nearly four weeks later, the film has recorded an India gross collection of Rs 72.32 crore, according to industry tracker Sacnilk figures of September 2. Its India net collection stood at Rs 61.38 crore after Day 27.

The film was reportedly made on a budget of around Rs 2 crore, although some reports have put the production cost closer to Rs 1.8 crore. That makes its theatrical performance particularly notable, although box-office gross should not be equated with producer profit because theatrical revenue is shared across exhibitors, distributors and producers.

For Anupriya, the film represents an unusual career transition from economics and university life to feature-film production.

Who is Anupriya Nagar?

Anupriya was born in Mumbai and later moved to the UK to study economics at the University of Bath. Her social media profiles describe her as an economist, artist and film producer. She began exhibiting her artwork at the age of 12 and subsequently took on leadership roles in student art, dance and business societies at Bath.

At the University of Bath, she was involved in the Women in Business Society and also served in student leadership roles. She has also cited research into innovative ecosystem banking as part of her academic work.

Her move into filmmaking did not follow the conventional route of an aspiring actor or filmmaker entering the industry early. Instead, the idea for Hanuman Ansh emerged while she was still studying economics.

In an interview, she explained that the subject came to her while working on a university module related to investment and banking. As part of her research, she studied Steve Jobs not only as a businessman but also as a thinker.

During that research, she came across material about Jobs' connection with Neem Karoli Baba and his visit to India. That motivated her to explore the spiritual figure in greater depth and eventually consider telling his story through cinema.

Anupriya's interest therefore was less about reproducing the often-repeated Jobs-Baba connection and more about exploring why a 20th-century Indian spiritual figure had attracted interest beyond India.

Her stated objective was to use cinema to take the story of Neem Karoli Baba to a younger and international audience.

In the same interview, she said her team spent about a year researching the subject, visiting locations and speaking to people who had known or spent time with the spiritual figure. The project also involved research into places associated with Neem Karoli Baba, including Chitrakoot and Vrindavan.

The film was eventually made under Swambhu Media Network. Publicly available credits list Anupriya alongside Ragini S, Namrata G Singh and director Vishal Chaturvedi as producers.

What is Hanuman Ansh about?

Directed and written by Vishal Chaturvedi, Hanuman Ansh is based on the life of Neem Karoli Baba.

The film follows Lakshman Das from his childhood and subsequent spiritual journey to his transformation into Neem Karoli Baba. It is positioned by its makers as a spiritual story rather than a conventional biographical film.

The cast includes Shobhinaw Satyaa and Chandan Anand in prominent roles, alongside Vihaan Shedge, Purnima Tiwari, Anil Rastogi and others.

Satyaa's casting itself became one of the more unusual aspects of the production. He was working as the film's second assistant director when the actor originally cast in the lead role fell ill. Chaturvedi subsequently tested Satyaa for nearly five hours before casting him as Neem Karoli Baba.

The film's commercial journey has been sharply different from its opening.

Hanuman Ansh opened on August 7 with only Rs 10 lakh. Its first week ended with around Rs 1.08 crore, followed by just Rs 40 lakh in the second week. At that stage, there was little indication that the film would become a major theatrical success.

The turnaround began in its third week. The film collected Rs 10.40 crore during the week, with its fortunes changing significantly around Day 16-17. On Day 17, it crossed the Rs 2 crore mark in a single day, according to Sacnilk figures.

The momentum became even stronger in the fourth week.

It collected Rs 6.25 crore on Day 22, Rs 9.25 crore on Day 23 and Rs 12.75 crore on Day 24. It then added Rs 5.50 crore on Day 25 and Rs 8.50 crore on Day 26. On Day 27, the film collected another Rs 7.25 crore net, taking its India net total to Rs 61.38 crore and gross collection to Rs 72.32 crore, according to Sacnilk figures reported on September 2. 2026.

- Saurav Pandey Business journalist at Moneycontrol, covering markets, IPOs and corporate India. He tells stories about founders, companies and wealth creation in a way that makes business relatable beyond its usual audience. He can be reached out at Saurav.Pandey@nw18.com.