The Steve Jobs story that inspired 21-year-old Anupriya to make Hanuman Ansh

Hanuman Ansh has emerged as an unexpected box office success, collecting over Rs 122.13 crore nett in India within 31 days of its release. Behind the film is 21-year-old producer Anupriya Nagar, who has said that an unlikely link between Steve Jobs and Neem Karoli Baba set her on the path to filmmaking.

Nagar said she had been studying Economics in the UK and had planned to move to Switzerland for a job in the art industry. But during research in her final year, she came across material on the late Apple co-founder’s connection with Neem Karoli Baba. After returning to India, she met filmmaker Vishal Chaturvedi, who was working on a film on Neem Karoli Baba, and said the rest happened by coincidence.

Speaking to ABP Live, Nagar said filmmaking was never part of her original plan. “I have done my graduation in Economics from the UK. I was there for three years. I just graduated last year. It was never part of my plan to make a film or return to India. I was planning to shift to Switzerland, where I had bagged a great job in the art industry because I have grown up among art all my life,” she said.

She said her interest in Neem Karoli Baba began in her final year at university while she was researching major technology companies and their founders. “In my final year in college, I was researching several tech companies. I was researching where founders of Apple, Meta got these ideas from. While reading one such article, I found out that Neem Karoli Baba had influenced Steve Jobs, who at Kainchi Dham came up with the idea of making the world’s colour computer. Reading that article, I wondered why I was getting information about an Indian saint from a foreigner? That triggered me to do more research on that.”

Nagar said she initially thought the research might become a book or a comic book. “I first thought to write a book or comic book. I was just 20. But when I came to India, I came across Vishal Chaturvedi, who was making a film on Neem Karoli Baba. It was all unplanned — pure coincidence,” she said.

Now in the film’s fourth week, Nagar has also spoken about the response to Hanuman Ansh and her own background. Speaking to Doordarshan, she said money was never the reason she took up the project. “It was a risk to make a film on Maharaj Ji, but to be honest, it was never my intention to make it for box office collections. I am glad that people are loving it and watching it. I am just 21, I don’t even know what I will do with so much money.”

Nagar said she comes from a family of art collectors and grew up around artists, which shaped her interest in storytelling. She said she has also held multiple exhibition.

She said the film’s success had changed the way her family viewed her decision to enter the industry. Nagar recalled that when she first told her father about making a film, he questioned how she would enter the industry while studying Economics. However, he immediately agreed when she explained that the film was about Neem Karoli Baba. She said her family was now extremely proud of her.

Nagar also recalled that the film had been written off as a flop after its first week, before word of mouth helped it find an audience. She said the initial response had affected the team’s morale as they felt the film had not reached enough people. However, she described its sudden turnaround as a miracle and credited viewers and influencers for helping it become a phenomenon.

From working on a research project in the UK to witnessing Hanuman Ansh enjoy a surprise run at the Indian box office, Nagar said her journey with the film had unfolded in a way she had never planned.

Hanuman Ansh is currently running in cinemas.