Mumbai: Following the success of ‘Hanuman Ansh’, speculation has been rife about its sequel, with many wondering whether some of Neem Karoli Baba’s celebrity devotees, including Anushka Sharma, Virat Kohli and Julia Roberts, could make an appearance.
Producer Namrata Singh has now addressed the buzz and revealed what audiences can expect from the upcoming film.
In an interaction with Bollywood Hungama, Namrata opened up about the franchise plans for ‘Hanuman Ansh’, revealing that the story was envisioned as a trilogy based on Vishal Chaturvedi’s book ‘Divine Detour: That Changed My Life’.
When asked about the possibility of Anushka, Virat or Julia appearing in the sequel, Namrata said, “I have reached out to some of them, and (they) were aware of the film earlier.”
Namrata further shared details about the trilogy’s narrative. While ‘Hanuman Ansh’ traces Neem Karoli Baba’s early years up to Kainchi Dham, the second instalment will delve deeper into his connection with Kainchi.
The third part, she revealed, will take the story to an international setting.
“There are thousands of devotees whose life he touched in India and they come first, without doubt. The Kainchi story is about the Indian devotees. The third film will focus on how he put India on the global map by spiritual energy that he transferred to the foreigners, be it Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, Julia Roberts, etc. However, we’ll touch on it later (in the third part),” she said.
‘Hanuman Ansh’ chronicles the early life of Lakshmi Narayan in pre-Independence India.
After his mother’s death, he leaves home in search of God, embarking on a spiritual journey across North India that ultimately transforms him into Neem Karoli Baba. Shobhinaw Satyaa plays the titular role.
The film also stars Chandan Anand, Anil Rastogi, Sugandha Malhotra, Bhagvandas Patel, Neha Paranjpe, Uday Sinh Rajput, Purnima Tiwari and Gautam Tripathi.
Released theatrically on August 7 on a modest budget, ‘Hanuman Ansh’ initially had a slow start at the box office. However, strong word of mouth soon turned things around, helping the film find a wider audience.
According to Sacnilk, ‘Hanuman Ansh’ has reportedly collected ₹173.63 crore net at the box office. The film was distributed by Hombale Films.
The team recently met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Earlier, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami attended a special screening of the film and described it as a must-watch spiritual movie for cinemagoers.
