Amid the Kunal Kamra controversy, filmmaker Hansal Mehta took to social media to reveal that what happened with the comedian is nothing new

Kabir Singh Bhandari

Not many celebs have reacted to the ongoing Kunal Kamra controversy. However, Hansal Mehta, who is known for his unbiased social media posts, took to X to share that whatever happened with Kamra is nothing new. 25 years ago for a dialogue in his film, his office in Mumbai was vandalised and even he was physically assaulted.

Mehta wrote, “What happened with Kamra is, sadly, not new to Maharashtra. I’ve lived through it myself. Twenty-five years ago, loyalists of the same (then undivided) political party stormed into my office. They vandalised it, physically assaulted me, blackened my face, and forced me to apologise publicly—by falling at the feet of an elderly woman—for a single line of dialogue in my film.” During an interview with us for FPJ’s 96th anniversary special, Mehta had told us about the ordeal in detail:

It was during his comedy-drama Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar!! (2000) starring Manoj Bajpayee, Tabu, and Saurabh Shukla. Clearly not understanding the title of the film, a few weeks after its release a bunch of people led by a politician turned up at his office and demanded an apology from him over a certain dialogue. Long story short, Mehta apologised.

Two weeks later, he got another call from someone who had landed at his office and demanded an apology. While reaching the scene, Mehta alerted the police station about the situation and that he would need protection. However, the policemen had no idea about the volume of people at the spot, with over three trucks of protesters being present. They threatened him, broke things in the office and vandalised the space.

Ultimately, after he stood up on a table with folded hands and asked them what they wanted, it was decided that he would have to go to their village and apologise to them. An actor friend from the industry who had stepped in saying he would help in talking to the villagers told Mehta they had started drinking outside his house, and had said they would burn his home down. Mehta went to the village without much police protection, as the force was tied up with some major demolitions that were happening on the same day.

The dark comedy in the whole situation was that none of the protesters had seen the film. When Mehta arrived, a bonfire was on outside his friend’s house and politicians, hooligans and others were present at the scene, threatening and screaming at him. They finally settled with him touching the feet of the eldest woman of the village as a symbolic gesture, despite which they also painted Mehta’s face black.