Hansal Mehta remembers protesters damaging office and tearing his clothes

NEW DELHI, April 18 (ONLINE): Director Hansal Mehta’s journey with the dark comedy “Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar!” turned tumultuous, costing him friendships and pushing him towards bankruptcy and alcoholism. Despite anticipating poor reviews, the severity of the criticism shattered his spirits. Mehta had borrowed money to finance the film, hoping for commercial success to repay debts. Three weeks post-release, individuals offended by the film’s dialogue demanded apologies, despite not having watched it. Mehta, under duress, apologized on camera. Subsequently, his office was besieged by protestors who threatened violence unless he apologized publicly in a specific neighborhood.

Hansal Mehta remembers protesters damaging office and tearing his clothes
When director Hansal Mehta set out to make the dark comedy Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar!, the filmmaker had no idea that it would not only cost him his friendship with Manoj Bajpayee, the lead actor of the 2000 film, but also land him in a series of unfortunate situations in the months to come. The film failed to impress audiences and critics, tanked at the box office, and pushed Mehta towards bankruptcy and alcoholism.

Talking to Siddharth Kannan, the filmmaker said that he had an inkling that the reviews would be bad, but he didn’t know they would be so bad.

It broke his spirit, but he learned his lessons, too. The film didn’t work. They had borrowed money to make the film, thinking that if it worked, they would be able to repay the loan.
Mehta recalled that three weeks after its release, some people who took offense to the dialogue in the film came to his office. They had not even seen the film. One of them had a camera and asked him to apologize. To control the situation, he apologized on camera. However, a few days later, he received a call from another person who was in his office while the director was at home.

He remembered heading to his office after a visit to the Santa Cruz police station. Upon arrival, he was surprised to see women sitting in trucks parked outside his office. Mehta said that he asked his friend, actor-poet Kishor Kadam, who belongs to the locality, to speak with him, but they yelled at him for having acted in his film and threatened that they would set his house on fire. They not only vandalized his office but also tore his clothes. They demanded that he visit Khar Danda’s locality and offer a public apology. To save his friend’s house and for his own safety, he agreed to apologize despite politicians warning him against it.