Hanuman Ansh, based on the life of spiritual guru Neem Karoli Baba, has become a massive hit at the box office. Made on a budget of less than Rs 2 crore, the film is nearing Rs 100 crore mark in India, and is yet to be released internationally. While the team is celebrating this success, the film’s director Vishal Chaturvedi, recently revealed that he was asked not to release it in theatres and release it directly on an OTT platform. In another chat, he also revealed that OTT platforms rejected his film using “derogatory” language.‘Sell to an OTT platform and make money’During an interaction on The Raunac Podcast, Vishal Chaturvedi revealed that he was asked to not release the film in theatres, and just focus on recovering his initial investment. “A lot of people asked us not to release the film at the theatres, and many advised to sell it to an OTT platform and recover your money. Some people also questioned why we made the movie, when a film on the same subject already exists. That film didn’t work, so your film also wouldn’t work. Me and my producers had already made up our minds about releasing the film at the theatres,” he said and added, “If you dont release a film in theatres, there is no way of gauging its success.”ALSO READ | Mirzapur The Movie box office Day 1: Pankaj Tripathi film surpasses Awarapan 2, earns Rs 30 crIn another chat with India TV, he shared that during the initial stage of putting the film together, he had indeed approached various OTT platforms. “I had gone to pitch another story to an OTT platform, and they asked me if I had an Indian story with international relevance. I narrated Maharaj Ji’s story in an emotional way,” he said.He added that the story was rejected in a “derogatory” way and shared, “I felt that the way they rejected the story, the kind of language they used, I found it to be derogatory.”Chaturvedi further added, “The way they said it, I felt that the narrative in their mind is filled with garbage, and now it is necessary to bust that narrative.”About Hanuman AnshHanuman Ansh hit theatres on August 7, and had an extremely low start at the box office, earning only Rs 10 lakh on its opening day. However, the film witnessed a major surge in the beginning of its third week due to the positive word of mouth. It is now close to crossing Rs 100 crore at the box office.Story continues below this adThe devotional drama is based on the life of spiritual guru Neem Karoli Baba. Hanuman Ansh is written, directed and produced by Dr Vishal Chaturvedi, and features Shobhinaw Satyaa in the lead role.Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.Tags:bollywood