New Delhi: "Hanuman Ansh", based on the life and teachings of spiritual leader Neem Karoli Baba, has earned Rs 227 crore at the box office.

The film is directed by Vishal Chaturvedi and follows a grieving young Lakshminarayan, who embarks on a spiritual journey in search of God after the death of his mother.

According to the trade tracking website Sacnilk, the net collection of the film stands at Rs 192.13 crore at the domestic box office.

The film was made on a paltry budget of just Rs 2 crore and released in Indian theatres on August 7, opening to modest box office numbers, with collections remaining low during its first two weeks before picking up pace on the back of positive word-of-mouth.

It features Shobhinaw Satya in the lead role alongside Vihaan Shedge, Chandan K Anand, Purnima Tiwari, Anil Rastogi, Gulshan Pandey and Bhagvandas Patel.

Baba Neem Karoli was born around 1900 in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Firozabad district and died in 1973. He was married early and became a wandering hermit.

His devotees include famous names such as Julia Roberts, Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma. Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg also reportedly visited his ashram in Kainchi Dham in the hill state.

The film opened with 250 screens, which has now grown to 2,000 screens following the box office surge.