Faith can move mountains, but can it fill cinema halls? Most sceptics think, or at least thought, otherwise, until stupendous success of Hanuman Ansh, which has crossed over Rs 200 crore on box office, proved otherwise.The first part of the trilogy on the life and teachings of the much revered Neem Karoli Baba had no takers right from its very inception. OTT platforms refused to back it, Bollywood turned a blind eye. But nothing deterred the film’s director Vishal Chaturvedi and more importantly 21-year-old producer Anupriya Nagar, who put her money where her heart is.As a rule, critics dumb down biopics when the tone is expectedly reverential. Considering the spiritual weight of the subject, reviewers opted for the safer route and all but ignored the film. Add to it the lack of marketing budget and Hanuman Ansh almost tanked.But the film on miracles of the guru became a miracle in itself. Word of mouth publicity spread like wildfire. Instagram was and continues to be inundated with laudatory posts, proving once again audience is the real kingmaker and its they and they alone who get to choose which film will be crowned numero uno. A quick recovery, re-release in theatres which had bid it goodbye, and today the film not only owns the record of being the most profitable film of 2026 but is being released internationally by Hombale Films which backed films like KGF and Kantara.Bollywood, which understands only the bhaasha of success, has woken up too. The first to appreciate it was director Aditya Dhar, the director of Dhurandhar, whose many records the film is, interestingly, knocking down. Last heard in the fifth weekend, it had collected Rs 49.25 crore, beating the original Dhurandhar fifth-weekend total of Rs 33.25 crore. Varun Dhawan posted a video praising the film’s ethereal quotient. Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar reviewed the film and wrote effusively, “pure cinematic magic” and called it “a crucial case study for the Indian film industry.”Seriously, what is it about Hanuman Ansh that has captured people’s imagination? Naysayers might be tempted to pin it down to the heightened religious atmosphere prevailing in the country. Indeed, religious subjects work every now and then. Now convicted Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s cinematic exercises in self-aggrandizement too won his band of faithfuls and though badly made, his films were never short of audiences. One has personally been witness to Gurdwaras swarming with devouts as half-baked films on Sikh philosophy were screened two decades ago. Indeed, there is no undermining the power of faith.But the truth like Hanuman Ansh’s unimaginable stint on box office is much bigger than that. Cynics will continue to churn out lame excuses. Remember the selective outrage when Dhurandhar roared and attributed its magical run to its pro-government slant. Indeed, both films can’t be compared on any meter. Except that whenever a film is made with honesty and complete conviction, be it mega budgeted Dhurandhar or Hanuman Ansh made with a measly Rs 2 crores, it’s bound to touch hearts. As international filmmaker Ben Rekhi said in an interview to us, “Cinema is indeed the business of emotional storytelling.” And we Indians, by and large are sentimental fools; anything that touches our hearts becomes our Mecca. Karan Johar knew it and the ‘three hankie maker’ mastered the art and made us weep copiously in film after film. Hanuman Ansh, of course, moves one step further and reaches out to our souls in the most tender and truthful manner.Yes, those looking for logic are bound to be dismayed by the unfolding of Neem Karoli Baba’s ceaseless miracles on screen. Yet, they are outranked by those on the other side who swear by the experience the film offers. Clearly, spirituality can’t be manufactured or faked… no doubt both the director and producer, are followers. Perhaps, the saatvik atmosphere prevalent on the sets where shooting began and ended with chanting of Hanuman Chalisa gave the film its spiritual edge.More recently, the director has confessed how while writing the film, he ensured no digital devices were around him. Today, miracle of miracles it’s on the same digital platforms that the film is finding its biggest OMG moments. Songs like ‘Jab zid pe aa gai Parvati…’ sung by Sadhu Tewari are going viral. The lead actor Shobhinav Satya has become one of country’s most recognisable faces. He has played the saint with so much conviction that viewers can’t help but bow down to touch his feet in theatres where the cast has made surprise appearances.Indeed, Hanuman Ansh has become a classic case of art becoming one with the makers’ belief. As St Augustine said, ‘Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.’ Only, right now audiences are both seeing and believing.