Hanuman Ansh (2026)

Patience is the price of admission for Hanuman Ansh, which plays more like a string of devotional stories than one flowing film, and its first half moves at the pace of a long walk. That may even be the point, but it tests you over 150 minutes. Vishal Chaturvedi tells the early life of Neem Karoli Baba, beginning with Lakshminarayan Sharma, a thirteen-year-old who walks away from home after his mother dies and seeks Rama through his devotion to Hanuman. The sets are simple, sometimes visibly so. What holds it together is Shobhinaw Satyaa. He plays the young seeker with stillness and quiet, never with big gestures, and the film trusts him. The best stretch comes on a train, where a colonial official orders him off and the train refuses to budge, a scene told with warmth instead of thunder. Audiences have embraced it, with an 8.5 on IMDb. A 6.9 because the devotion is sincere and the storytelling needs tightening. $161 says you hold the door for a total stranger tomorrow and feel a little lighter for it.

What works: Shobhinaw Satyaa’s restrained, quiet performance carries the film, and the music suits its reflective mood.

What doesn’t: The story often feels like a collection of separate episodes rather than one journey, and the first half is sluggish.

Who it’s for: Devotees of Neem Karoli Baba and viewers who want a calm, reverent spiritual biopic rather than a big spectacle.