Filmmaker Hansal Mehta reacts to imposters attempting to dupe people under the pretext of investment in his new film, contemplates approaching cops if he fails to identify them
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; June 10, 2019)

Days after Rajkummar Rao took to Twitter to warn fans about a "team of con artists", including impersonators, using his name to attempt to dupe directors and producers, frequent collaborator Hansal Mehta too apprised his followers of a similar set-up.

"I am baffled with what is happening," Mehta tells mid-day after sharing on Twitter that imposters were trying to deceive people under the pretext of working for a venture involving him and Rao. The concerned project, Mehta confirms, does not exist. "I have received calls from six people enquiring about the project, which doesn't exist. A few days ago, someone from Dubai contacted me [to discuss it] too. That's when I decided to speak up so that no one gets duped."

The fraudsters, he tells us, have approached film investors with requests of large sums of money, the proportion of which he's unwilling to disclose. But he alludes the troublemakers may not belong to one group. "There are many such miscreants. A couple of weeks ago, someone showed me a presentation of a shoddy script involving Rajkummar and Patralekhaa in the lead. It is scary considering the fact that it involved money. The damage caused could be [significant]." For the time being, he is hoping his forewarning may help him nab the imposters. "If it doesn't stop, I might approach the cops," he says.