Hansal Mehta’s latest, Scoop, which delves into the life of former journalist Jigna Vora, has been on a winning streak since it released on an OTT platform earlier this year. Not only has it captivated the audience, but it has also received prestigious awards, most notably the title of Best Asian TV Series at the Busan Film Festival in South Korea recently.

The 55-year-old shares, “Awards make you feel vindicated, that what you set out to do, people are seeing that. Scoop was an important story, and one well told. To see it being recognized internationally tells us a lot about the times that we are living in.”

When asked if awards are the sole measure of his project’s triumph, he comments, “Ultimately, you make things for your own satisfaction. You have to feel that you gave yourself to it completely and surrendered yourself to the story. When I look back at the decision I made many years ago, like when I made Shahid (2013), I look back at it with pride. For me, self-validation is important. I can say that in the last 20-30 years, I have felt a sense of pride in almost 80% of the work that I have done.”

But what about the remaining 20%, one might wonder? Mehta responds, “That 20% is why and how I have been able to make that 80%.”

His filmography is primarily grounded in real-life events. What fuels his fascination with this kind of content? “Through these stories, we are reflecting on the times that we are living in. No matter how much we say media, politics, crime — everything around doesn’t impact the common man directly, but the truth is that it does. One day, it could be any of us,” he ends.