RamBola Announced: Hanuman Ansh Director Vishal Chaturvedi to Tell Tulsidas’ Story

After taking the story of Neem Karoli Baba to theatres with Hanuman Ansh, filmmaker Vishal Chaturvedi is turning to another towering figure of India's spiritual and literary history. On Ganesh Chaturthi 2026, Chaturvedi announced RamBola, a new film centred on the life and legacy of Mahakavi Goswami Tulsidas.

The announcement was made through a public post by Mahaveer Jain Films. The project will be written and directed by Vishal Chaturvedi and produced by Mahaveer Jain, Vishal Chaturvedi, Amit Upadhyay and Raghuvendra Singh. Mahaveer Jain Films will present the film.

Unlike the many large-scale mythological projects currently being developed in Hindi cinema, RamBola is centred on the man behind one of the most influential devotional literary traditions associated with Lord Rama.

What Is RamBola About?

The makers have described RamBola as “The Immortal Story of Goswami Tulsidas.” The film is expected to explore Tulsidas' journey, devotion and transformation into one of India's most influential saint-poets.

The title itself has historical significance. Tulsidas is traditionally known as Rambola, a name associated with his early life before he became known as Goswami Tulsidas.

According to the announcement, the film will focus on his life and enduring contribution rather than simply using his name as a backdrop for a conventional devotional drama. Current reports describe the project as exploring both his spiritual journey and literary legacy.

Who Is Goswami Tulsidas?

Goswami Tulsidas was a major poet and saint of the 16th century, best known for Ramcharitmanas, his celebrated Awadhi retelling of the Ramayana.

His literary legacy extends beyond Ramcharitmanas. Works associated with Tulsidas include Vinay Patrika, Kavitavali, Gitavali and Dohavali. He is also widely associated with the Hanuman Chalisa, one of the most widely recited devotional compositions in North India.

That makes his life particularly challenging material for a filmmaker. A story about Tulsidas is not only a religious narrative; it is also a story about language, poetry, devotion and the way literature can influence a culture for centuries.

RamBola therefore has the potential to approach Tulsidas through both the spiritual and literary dimensions of his life.

Vishal Chaturvedi Returns to Spiritual Cinema

The announcement gives Chaturvedi a clear thematic continuation after Hanuman Ansh.

His previous film focused on Neem Karoli Baba, also known as Maharaj Ji, and explored the spiritual journey of the figure through a biographical drama. Chaturvedi served as writer and director on that project as well.

With RamBola, the filmmaker is moving from a 20th-century spiritual figure to a 16th-century saint-poet whose influence is primarily preserved through literature and devotional tradition.

That shift could give Chaturvedi considerably more scope in terms of period setting, language, historical reconstruction and visual storytelling.

At the same time, it keeps him within the creative territory that has increasingly become associated with his recent work: stories rooted in India's spiritual traditions.

The Hanuman Ansh Connection

The timing of the announcement is significant.

Hanuman Ansh, which Chaturvedi wrote and directed, initially arrived without the scale of marketing associated with many mainstream Bollywood releases. The film subsequently developed a much larger theatrical audience.

Variety India reported in early September that the film, made on a reported budget of around ₹2 crore, had collected ₹122.13 crore at that point and was being driven substantially by word of mouth.

 The film had crossed ₹200 crore and describing its performance as a major commercial success relative to its modest production budget.

The exact box-office figure has varied across reporting and continues to change while the film remains in circulation. For that reason, the more important takeaway for RamBola is not one particular collection number, but the commercial visibility that Hanuman Ansh has given Chaturvedi's brand of spiritual storytelling.

From Neem Karoli Baba to Tulsidas

The two subjects are separated by centuries, but there is a clear creative connection.

Hanuman Ansh dealt with the life and spiritual teachings associated with Neem Karoli Baba. RamBola will explore Tulsidas, whose devotion to Lord Rama became central to his identity and literary work.

In both cases, the filmmaker is choosing a historical or spiritual figure rather than building a story around conventional Bollywood celebrity casting.

That gives RamBola an identity from the outset.

It also suggests that Chaturvedi is developing a body of work around India's saint tradition rather than treating Hanuman Ansh as a one-off experiment.

Who Is Producing RamBola?

The project brings together four producers: Mahaveer Jain, Vishal Chaturvedi, Amit Upadhyay and Raghuvendra Singh.

Mahaveer Jain Films is presenting the film, continuing its collaboration with Chaturvedi after Hanuman Ansh.

The production house is also developing projects across different genres. Its reported slate includes Mrigdeep Singh Lamba's Naagzilla, Sooraj Barjatya's Yeh Prem Mol Liya and White, featuring Vikrant Massey.

For RamBola, however, the announcement so far has deliberately kept the focus on the subject and the creative team.

No Cast or Release Date Has Been Announced Yet

At this stage, audiences should not expect a confirmed star cast or release calendar.

Current reporting indicates that details of the cast and release date have not yet been announced.

There is also no verified information yet about the film's budget, shooting schedule, music team, filming locations or theatrical release strategy.

Those details will become important because a Tulsidas story could be mounted in several very different ways from an intimate historical biography to a large-scale period spiritual drama.

Until the makers provide those details, it would be premature to speculate about the eventual scale of the production.

Why Tulsidas Is a Particularly Significant Subject

The biggest opportunity with RamBola lies in the subject itself.

Tulsidas' contribution to Indian culture cannot be reduced simply to his association with one religious text. Ramcharitmanas helped bring the Ramayana into a widely accessible vernacular literary form and became deeply embedded in North Indian devotional and cultural life.

A film about his life consequently carries two interconnected stories: the personal transformation of a poet and the eventual cultural influence of his writing.

That creates room for a film that explores questions of faith, language, literature and personal transformation alongside the devotional element.

For an audience familiar with Ramcharitmanas, the challenge will be presenting the historical figure behind the text rather than merely retelling stories that viewers already know.

The Celebrity Hour Take

RamBola is interesting because it arrives at a moment when spiritual and culturally rooted cinema is demonstrating that it does not necessarily require a conventional superstar vehicle to find an audience.

Hanuman Ansh has given Vishal Chaturvedi an unusually strong platform for his next project. But RamBola also raises the creative stakes.

Neem Karoli Baba's story and Tulsidas' life belong to very different historical periods and require different forms of storytelling. Tulsidas' significance is inseparable from his writing, meaning that the film will have to make poetry and literary transformation cinematic without turning the story into a simple historical lecture.

That is where the project's biggest potential lies.

If Chaturvedi can make Tulsidas' personal journey as accessible as his literary legacy is familiar, RamBola could become more than another devotional film. It could introduce a major historical literary figure to audiences who know his work but may know comparatively little about the man himself.

What We Know About RamBola So Far

The confirmed details are currently straightforward:

• Title: RamBola

• Subject: Goswami Tulsidas

• Written and directed by: Vishal Chaturvedi

• Producers: Mahaveer Jain, Vishal Chaturvedi, Amit Upadhyay and Raghuvendra Singh

• Presented by: Mahaveer Jain Films

• Cast: Not announced

• Release date: Not announced

The project has therefore moved beyond speculation the makers have formally announced it but substantial production details are still to come.

For now, the most significant development is the direction Chaturvedi has chosen for his follow-up to Hanuman Ansh: another deeply rooted Indian spiritual story, this time centred on one of the country's most influential saint-poets.

Sources & Verification

This The Celebrity Hour report was independently researched using the filmmakers' public announcement of RamBola and cross-checked with current coverage from established publications including The Indian Express, The Print, Times of India and Variety India. The production credits and title have been treated as confirmed because they appear in the makers' public announcement.

The article distinguishes confirmed project details from information that has not yet been announced, including the cast, release date, budget and shooting schedule. Box-office context for Hanuman Ansh has also been treated cautiously because reported totals have continued to change during its theatrical run.