Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma may feature in ‘Hanuman Ansh’ sequel
'Hanuman Ansh', was one of the year’s biggest surprise hits
Indian cricket star Virat Kohli, his wife and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, and Hollywood star Julia Roberts could potentially appear in the sequel to “Hanuman Ansh”, one of the year’s biggest surprise hits.
The devotional drama, based on the life of Neem Karoli Baba, has struck a chord with audiences and its success has sparked speculation over whether some of the spiritual leader’s well-known followers could feature in a future instalment.
Written, directed and produced by Vishal Chaturvedi, the film has also highlighted Neem Karoli Baba’s global following, which includes prominent figures such as Kohli, Anushka and Roberts.
Co-producer Namrata Singh recently addressed the possibility of the celebrity devotees appearing in a sequel during an interview with Bollywood Hungama. She revealed that the filmmakers have already reached out to some of them and that they were aware of the project even before its release.
Singh revealed that “Hanuman Ansh” was conceived as the first part of a three-film series based on Chaturvedi’s book Divine Detour: That Changed My Life. She also confirmed that the filmmakers have already approached some of the Baba’s celebrity devotees, adding that they were aware of the project even before its release.
She explained that each film in the trilogy will explore a different phase of Neem Karoli Baba’s journey. The first instalment follows his early life and traces his journey up to his time at Kainchi Dham. The second film will focus more extensively on his years at Kainchi, with greater emphasis on his Indian devotees, whom Singh described as his first priority.
The third instalment will expand the story beyond India and explore the spiritual influence Neem Karoli Baba had on international personalities. Singh mentioned figures such as Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey and Julia Roberts, although she indicated that those aspects of the story would be explored in the later film.
“Hanuman Ansh” follows the pre-Independence journey of Lakshmi Narayan, who leaves home after the death of his mother in search of a spiritual path. His travels across North India eventually lead to his transformation into the revered Neem Karoli Baba.
Shobhinav Satyaa plays the lead role, with Chandan Anand, Anil Rastogi, Sugandha Malhotra, Bhagvandas Patel, Neha Paranjpe, Uday Sinh Rajput, Purnima Tiwari and Gautam Tripathi among the supporting cast.
Made on a modest budget, the film opened in theatres on August 7 to a slow response. However, strong word-of-mouth helped the film gain momentum in the following weeks.
