Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha has taken note of the contrasting yet significant box-office performances of ‘Mirzapur – The Movie’ and ‘Hanuman Ansh’. While the former opened strongly on Friday, the latter has emerged as one of the year’s biggest surprise hits. For Sinha, however, the success of both films points to something more significant than unexpected box-office numbers.
Anubhav Sinha congratulates team ‘Mirzapur ’
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the filmmaker congratulated the team of ‘Mirzapur – The Movie’ while suggesting that the film’s box-office performance, along with that of ‘Hanuman Ansh’, offers the industry an important message.He wrote, “Congratulations Team Mirzapur!!! Well done. The Box Office is telling us all a story if we watch carefully. Mirzapur and Hanuman Ansh are not freak hits. It is easy to draw simplistic conclusions and dangerous too.”By calling both films more than “freak hits”, Sinha appears to be urging the industry to look beyond conventional explanations for their success and pay closer attention to what audiences are choosing to watch.
‘Hanuman Ansh’ continues its strong box-office run
Sinha’s comments come as ‘Hanuman Ansh’ continues its impressive theatrical run. Made on a reported budget of around Rs 2 crore, the Vishal Chaturvedi directorial has crossed the Rs. 100 crore net domestic mark in India, according to Sacnilk. The film had a modest start, collecting just Rs 10 lakh on its opening day. However, its collections picked up steadily over the following weeks, with the film attracting a significantly larger audience after completing three weeks in theatres. Written, directed and produced by Vishal Chaturvedi, ‘Hanuman Ansh’ has gone on to become one of the year’s most unexpected box-office success stories.
‘Mirzapur – The Movie’ opens strongly
Meanwhile, ‘Mirzapur – The Movie’ has made an impressive start at the domestic box office. Starring Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Divyenndu and Jitendra Kumar, the film collected Rs 25.75 crore in India on its opening day, Friday, according to Sacnilk. The film has since taken its domestic India collection past the Rs. 60 crore mark, further underlining the strong audience interest in the ‘Mirzapur’ franchise.
Anubhav Sinha’s take on changing audience choices
Sinha’s observation is particularly notable given his own filmography. The filmmaker has largely focused on socially relevant and issue-driven cinema in recent years, directing films such as ‘Mulk’, ‘Thappad’, ‘Anek’, ‘Bheed’ and ‘Assi’.
