Mirzapur Director Gurmmeet Singh Says ‘Drastically Different’ Hanuman Ansh Success Shows Audiences Will Keep Theatres Full

The recent box-office performances of Mirzapur: The Movie and Hanuman Ansh have offered an interesting contrast in Hindi cinema. One is a crime thriller built around a popular OTT franchise, while the other is a devotional drama inspired by the life and legacy of Neem Karoli Baba. Yet both have managed to attract audiences to theatres.

For Mirzapur: The Movie director Gurmmeet Singh, the contrasting success stories are a sign that theatrical audiences are willing to embrace different kinds of cinema when the content connects with them.

Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Singh described the success of the two films as “absolutely amazing” given their different genres. He said their performance “puts so much faith in the cinegoers”, adding that as long as audiences like what they see, they will continue to keep cinema halls full.

‘Nobody could have imagined’ Mirzapur’s response

Singh also reflected on the response to Mirzapur: The Movie, which brought the popular crime franchise from streaming to the big screen.

The filmmaker admitted that while the franchise already had a huge fan base, the scale of the theatrical response was still difficult to predict.

“I don't think anyone could've imagined the response we have received,” Singh said.

He added that seeing fans arrive at cinemas and enjoy the film wholeheartedly had been an “unbelievable experience” for the team.

The director also recalled that the idea of taking Mirzapur to theatres had been discussed for years. According to Singh, the response to two episodes of the first season at the MAMI festival in 2018 helped demonstrate that the world of Mirzapur could work in a theatrical setting. He said producer Ritesh Sidhwani had also been telling him and writer Puneet Krishna since 2019 that the franchise needed a big-screen version.

Mirzapur and Hanuman Ansh prove different genres can coexist

What makes the current box-office trend notable is the contrast between the two films.

Mirzapur: The Movie, released on September 4, is an extension of a crime franchise featuring actors including Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Divyendu Sharma, Rasika Dugal and Ravi Kishan. Hanuman Ansh, meanwhile, is a spiritual drama centred on Neem Karoli Baba and was made on a much smaller scale.

Industry coverage has highlighted how Hanuman Ansh built momentum through word of mouth despite initially receiving limited theatrical shows. The Week reported that the film's audience continued growing weeks after release, while Mint reported that its strong performance helped it secure more shows as exhibitors responded to demand.

For Singh, the takeaway is less about one particular genre succeeding over another and more about audiences responding to content they connect with.

A changing theatrical audience

The performances of the two films have also added to a broader conversation around what brings people to cinemas. Recent industry reports have pointed to audience demand, occupancy and word of mouth as important factors in determining how long films retain theatrical shows.

Singh's comments suggest that filmmakers need not necessarily rely on one established formula. His observation comes at a time when films with very different subjects and scales are competing for the same theatrical audience.

For Mirzapur, the challenge was converting an established streaming fandom into paying cinema audiences. For Hanuman Ansh, the challenge was building that audience largely through word of mouth. Their respective journeys have nevertheless demonstrated that theatrical viewers can respond to very different stories.