Steve Jobs is an unlikely reason why 21-year-old Anupriya Nagar ended up producing Hanuman Ansh. While studying Economics in the UK, Anupriya was researching how major technology companies and their founders came up with their ideas when she came across a connection between the late Apple co-founder and Neem Karoli Baba.
That discovery eventually changed the course of her life. Anupriya, who had been preparing to move to Switzerland for a job in the art industry, returned to India and later met filmmaker Vishal Chaturvedi, who was working on a film about Neem Karoli Baba. The rest, she said, happened by coincidence.
How Steve Jobs led Anupriya Nagar to Neem Karoli Baba
Anupriya told ABP Live that she had never planned to make a film. Her original
plan was to move to Switzerland after completing her Economics degree in the UK and take up a job in the art industry. “I have done my graduation in Economics from the UK. I was there for three years. I just graduated last year. It was never part of my plan to make a film or return to India. I was planning to shift to Switzerland, where I had bagged a great job in the art industry because I have grown up among art all my life.”
Her interest in Neem Karoli Baba began during her final year at university. While researching technology companies and their founders, she came across an article about Steve Jobs and the Indian spiritual figure.
“In my final year in college, I was researching several tech companies. I was researching where founders of Apple, Meta got these ideas from. While reading one such article, I found out that Neem Karoli Baba had influenced Steve Jobs, who at Kainchi Dham came up with the idea of making the world’s colour computer. Reading that article, I wondered why I was getting information about an Indian saint from a foreigner? That triggered me to do more research on that.”
The subject stayed with her. She initially thought her research could become a book or comic book, but her plans changed after she returned to India and met Vishal Chaturvedi.
“I first thought to write a book or comic book. I was just 20. But when I came to India, I came across Vishal Chaturvedi, who was making a film on Neem Karoli Baba. It was all unplanned — pure coincidence,” she added.
Who is Anupriya Nagar, the producer of Hanuman Ansh?
At just 21, Anupriya Nagar is the producer behind Hanuman Ansh, which has gained popularity in its fourth week. Speaking to Doordarshan, she admitted that money was never the reason she decided to make the film. “It was a risk to make a film on Maharaj Ji, but to be honest, it was never my intention to make it for box office collections. I am glad that people are loving it and watching it. I am just 21, I don’t even know what I will do with so much money.”
Anupriya comes from a family of art collectors and grew up around artists. She has also held multiple exhibitions and said her interest in storytelling was shaped by that environment. “I have grown up around the biggest of the biggest names — Jagdish Swaminathan, MF Husain, Gaitonde to Raza. I have grown up around this because my family is an art collector. So storytelling has always been a part of my life,” she said.
The success of Hanuman Ansh has also changed how her family views her decision to enter filmmaking. Anupriya recalled how her father initially questioned the move, given that she was studying Economics. “When I first told him that I am making a film, my dad was like… ‘You are studying Economics. How are you going to get into this industry?’ But when I told him it was on Neem Karoli Baba, he immediately agreed. They are so proud today.”
She also recalled that the film was initially considered a flop after its first week before its fortunes changed through word of mouth. “After the first week, the industry had announced our film as a flop. Our morale was down that our film didn’t reach people. It is a miracle that it turned overnight and, secondly, the viewers and influencers with word-of-mouth have helped make it a phenomenon,” she said.
