Hanuman Ansh Writer-Director Vishal Chaturvedi Reveals Why He Removed All Digital Devices From His Room While Writing The Film

Hanuman Ansh is continuing its strong run at the box office, crossing the Rs 150 crore mark. As the film reaches the milestone, writer-director Vishal Chaturvedi has opened up about the unusual way he worked on the story, which is based on the life and teachings of spiritual leader Neem Karoli Baba.

At a time when most film writing happens on laptops and other digital devices, Chaturvedi chose to go in the opposite direction. He deliberately removed technology from his writing space so that he could focus entirely on the story.

“I removed all digital devices from my room,” he revealed, explaining that he wrote the screenplay using pen and paper instead.

Why Vishal Chaturvedi chose to write by hand

Chaturvedi had been certain for some time that he wanted to tell this particular story. He spent considerable time researching the subject, collecting references and working through the ideas before beginning the actual writing.

Rather than typing his thoughts directly, he wrote everything down by hand. His assistants would then convert the handwritten material into digital files. “I used to write everything by hand. Later, I would send snapshots of my handwritten pages to my assistants, and they would convert them into digital copies,” he shared.

For Chaturvedi, the slower process was also a way to avoid distractions and stay connected to the story.

45 days for the first scene

Interestingly, the amount of time Chaturvedi spent writing the film did not remain consistent throughout the process. While the rest of the story came together fairly quickly, he took nearly 45 days to finalise the opening scene. “I am very particular about the first scene because it establishes the narrative and sets the direction for everything that follows,” he explained.

The challenge was finding the right way to begin a story that had several references, incidents and accounts to draw from. Chaturvedi wanted the opening to establish the tone and direction of the film before moving into the larger narrative.

“Once I found the first scene, the rest of the story started falling into place,” he said.

Hanuman Ansh box office

Hanuman Ansh has continued its impressive run at the box office even after spending more than a month in theatres. The Shobhinaw Satyaa and Chandan Anand-starrer, which had a slow start, has turned into a surprise blockbuster as its collections picked up in the following weeks.

According to Sacnilk, the film earned Rs 10.25 crore net in India on Day 34 (September 9). The collection came from 7,810 shows, with the film recording an overall occupancy of 35 per cent.