Kunal Kemmu has a correction for the trade. Hanuman Ansh, the 2026 release that has now crossed Rs 423.26 crore gross worldwide, is not ‘pan-India,’ he told India Today Digital. ‘I don’t think it is a pan-India film, it has become a pan-international film. Everybody in the world is watching that film,’ the actor-filmmaker said while promoting Vibe.
The distinction matters because the industry often treats the pan-India tag as a signal of how a film is packaged, cast and sold. Kemmu is separating that packaging from what actually reaches an audience.
The label is a business term, not a recipe
Kemmu argues that pan-India has never been a creative formula. It is a word the trade uses when collections arrive from several territories. ‘The only way they say pan-India is when they get everything that is defined about Bollywood by the business that it does at the box office,’ he said. If the numbers are good, every territory has contributed something.
He called the phrase ‘just a businessman’s way of saying’ that a title, star or story can collect across the country. Hanuman Ansh, directed by Vishal Chaturvedi, has travelled far enough to make the domestic label feel small.
An eighth week that still counts
The film’s legs support his point. On its eighth Thursday, October 1, Hanuman Ansh collected Rs 2.90 crore nett across 4,345 shows at 19 per cent occupancy. Its eighth week added Rs 29.20 crore, according to Sacnilk. The global total now stands at Rs 423.26 crore gross.
- Hanuman Ansh: Rs 423.26 crore gross worldwide; Rs 29.20 crore in week eight.
- Vibe: Rs 20.05 crore gross worldwide; Rs 15.15 crore India nett from 22,276 shows.
Content-led success as confidence
For Kemmu, the deeper significance is not the box-office report. It is that audiences keep making room for stories that do not obey ‘the so-called norms’ of a formula. ‘It’s what gives us hope,’ he said. An artist’s journey is full of heartbreak, surprises and uphill battles, he added, so a content-led hit is endearing, heartwarming and confidence-inspiring.
He was careful not to dismiss conventional filmmaking. Instead he argued for leaving room for different kinds of stories and artists. ‘It’s an artist who’s trying to put art out there,’ he said. ‘It will be received by different people in different ways, but we’ll still continue to keep doing it.’
Vibe’s own template
Kemmu is putting that belief into practice with Vibe, his second directorial after Madgaon Express. The action-comedy stars Kemmu, Preity Zinta, Sparsh Shrivastava and debutant Vanshika Dhir, and follows two ordinary friends pulled into a dangerous mission. Released on September 18, Vibe has grossed Rs 20.05 crore worldwide, with Rs 18 crore from India and Rs 2.05 crore overseas. Its India nett stands at Rs 15.15 crore across 22,276 shows.
Source: India Today
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