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Director Vishal Chaturvedi’s latest film Hanuman Ansh, based on the life of Neem Karoli Baba, has proved the true power of positive word of mouth. The devotional drama, that started with just Rs 10 lakhs on its first day of release on August 7, has now crossed Rs 50 crore worldwide. The film’s songs have also been grabbing attention, especially the track ‘Tere Hi Bharose Hanuman’, sung by a visually impaired Bundelkhandi folk singer Suneel Lodhi. In a recent interview, he recalled how he spent years in Bundelkhand singing with his tambura and has now made his way to Bollywood.

While reacting to the massive success of the song ‘Maine Tere Hi Bharose’, he told Hindustan Times, “I am getting so many calls congratulating me for the songs. Log keh rahe hain ki viral ho gaya hai gana (People are saying it’s viral). Bahut acha lag raha hai… I want to thank God and all the people who helped me in my journey.”

The Bundeli singer then opened up about how his relationship with music started when he was very young, around 10 or 11. “I used to sing on the tambura,” he shared. Lodhi slowly made devotional and Bundeli folk songs a part of his signature tracks. He mostly performed for people around him before social media gave him a bigger platform.

He recalled singing songs for the Bundeli Duniya page since a long time. “That is where my Bundeli songs started getting noticed.” One of those songs – “Dula Ban Ke Aa Gai”, has reached over lakhs of views, but it was the track “More Sankat Ke Kataiya” that helped him gain more popularity. The song was recorded with Lodhi singing and playing the tambura.

Then, filmmaker and music producer Pankaj VRK heard his voice and liked the raw quality of his singing. “I have been working on YouTube for around three years. ‘More Sankat Ke Kataiya’ sounded very good in his voice, so I wanted to contact him,” Pankaj recalled.

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However, it was difficult to find Lodhi and Pankaj revealed that he had to look “here and there” for his contact number. Later, the singer travelled to Indore for the first time before the journey before going to Mumbai. After getting a call from Mumbai after “More Sankat Ke Kataiya” circulated online, the filmmaker helped him reach Sai Baba Studio in Mumbai, where he recorded around eight songs, with “Maine Tere Hi Bharose” released till now.

“I sang it on the tambura, recorded the vocals in the studio and came back. I did not know that this song would be in a film. More ‘Sankat Ke Kataiya’ is a traditional Hanuman bhajan. I keep singing these traditional bhajans. ‘Maine Tere Hi Bharose’ is also traditional,” the 25-year-old singer revealed.

The devotional drama was made on an estimated budget of just Rs 2 crore and has already grossed over Rs 53.82 crore at the domestic box office. While the film opened at just Rs 10 lakhs on its first day and 20 lakh on day 2, the numbers started improving after two weeks of release. The surprise success of the film was purely driven by positive word of mouth.

According to the industry tracker Sacnilk, the highest single day collection of Hanuman Ansh was on day 24 at Rs 12.75 crore net in India. On day 25, it earned Rs 5.5 crore, taking the overall net box office collection to Rs 45.63 crore. The theatre occupancy of the movie has also been increasing day by day.

Hanuman Ansh is based on the life and philosophy of the spiritual saint Neem Karoli Baba. Directed and written by Vishal Chaturvedi, the film features Chandan Anand, Shobhinav Satya, Poornima Tiwari and Vihaan Shedge, along with Sadhu Sushil Tiwari’s music. It has been produced by Vishal, along with co-producers Namrata G. Singh, Anupriya Nagar, and Ragini Sona.

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