Just because she has been missing from the screen doesn’t mean Bipasha Basu has been lying low. Nearly six years after her OTT debut with the thriller Dangerous (2020), the actor is back to work, and this time with a crime thriller helmed by Hansal Mehta. Sources inform that Basu began shooting for Mehta’s next, titled Barabanki, in Mumbai last month.

Adapted from The Barabanki Narcos: Busting India’s Most Notorious Drug Cartel, written by retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Aloke Lal, the crime thriller is set in 1984. It tells the inspiring story of how Lal led a massive opium raid operation in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki district.

“The series is a gripping, real-life, first-hand account of the dismantling of powerful drug cartels by an IPS officer and his team,” informs a trade source about the series, which is co-produced by Prabhleen Kaur, known for Made in India: The Titan Story. The series also features Sunny Kaushal and Homebound star Vishal Jethwa.

While it is still unclear who plays which role, we hear the makers will also shine a light on those who assisted Lal — including his trusted staff and a network of informers, like former addicts and small-time peddlers — in his fight against the drug cartels.

Basu, who is returning to the screen after having her baby Devi in 2020, “has a powerful role”. “Bipasha has a strong connection to the protagonist. And she hasn’t worked with Hansal before,” shares the source, adding that the actor immediately gave her nod when Mehta approached her with the story, as he has been on her wish list.

“Bipasha has a certain look in the film which is different from the ones she previously sported in her movies.” And that’s all they will say.

Aloke Lal served for 37 years in public service and retired as a Director General of Police (DGP). Besides dismantling the Barabanki Narcotics Cartel, he led field operations against organised armed bandits operating in the rural belts of Shahjahanpur. He was responsible for overseeing counter-militancy operations in Uttarakhand. He detailed eight major investigations of burglary in his co-authored book, ‘On the Trail of Thugs and Thieves’.

Following Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story (2020) and Scam 2003: The Telgi Story (2023), filmmaker Hansal Mehta is nearing completion of the franchise’s third instalment, Scam 2010: The Subrata Roy Saga. The series traces the rise and fall of controversial Sahara India Pariwar founder Subrata Roy Sahara, who spent over two years in jail in connection with the long-running SEBI-Sahara investor refund case.

Marathi actor Siddharth Bodke plays Roy, while Kritika Singh and Moon Banerjee portray his wife Swapna Roy and mother Chhabi Roy, respectively. Aditya Srivastava is also part of the cast. “The team has shot in Lucknow, where Sahara’s head office is based, as well as in Kanpur-Bithoor, Malihabad and other nearby locations. After completing schedules in Noida, Delhi and Dehradun, they are now shooting the final leg in Mumbai,” a source tells us.

When contacted, Mehta said he “can’t speak about it” and directed the query to Applause Entertainment, which did not respond.

The project, announced in May 2024, has also faced legal opposition from Sahara. “Yes, we have filed a case which is still pending. We are aware that the series is being shot and is based on Tamal Bandyopadhyay’s book, which has Sahara India Parivar’s full-page disclaimer on its opening page,” a Sahara source says.

What will be the fate of Ranveer Singh’s movies in the pipeline? That was the big question in the Hindi film industry after the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), on May 25, announced a non-cooperation directive against the actor in relation to producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s complaint that he had abruptly exited Don 3 and allegedly caused significant financial losses to the project. The directive is likely to affect Singh’s slate, which has the ambitious zombie thriller Pralay and Aditya Dhar’s next on Chandragupta Maurya.

Pralay, directed by Jai Mehta, is slated to roll in August. Trade insiders say that the film — produced by Singh’s Maa Kasam Films, Hansal Mehta’s True Story Films, and Birla Studios — will involve nearly 500 technicians and workers across departments including action, lighting, costumes, make-up, art direction, and spot staff. Considering 34 vendor associations fall under the FWICE, the non-cooperation directive threatens to disrupt the film’s schedules. mid-day contacted Hansal and Jai for a comment on the film’s probable delay, but they didn’t respond till press time.

A source from the production, however, told mid-day that the directive would do more harm than good. “In the Hindi film industry, where over 70 per cent of the daily wage earners are already out of work because not many films are being made, shouldn’t the FWICE allow them to work instead of taking opportunities away with this directive? As for Pralay, in the worst-case scenario, Ranveer can take the cast and crew, and shoot the movie anywhere in India. While the FWICE’s stand applies to all of its members, it cannot legally stop non-members from working. If Pralay is shot outside Mumbai, the makers may bypass the FWICE-affiliated workers by hiring local crew members belonging to other unions,” said the source.

Ashoke Pandit, chief advisor, FWICE, is confident that the directive issued is the right approach in light of the situation. That said, the cine body is open to a resolution between Singh and Don 3 makers. When mid-day reached out to him, Pandit said, “The FWICE directive is effective because our federation has 34 vendor associations under it. If they don’t have vendors, workers, and technicians, who will they shoot with? People underestimate the strength of the federation. The situation can only be resolved if everybody sits together and sorts it out amicably.”

Sources indicate that producers of Singh’s upcoming projects may approach the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against the FWICE’s directive. In a 2017 case filed by filmmaker Vipul A Shah, the CCI held that practices such as issuing non-cooperation directives, preventing producers from hiring non-members, stalling shoots, and restricting the supply of services amounted to anti-competitive conduct under the Competition Act. A producer associated with one of Singh’s upcoming films said, on condition of anonymity, “If this situation escalates further, producers may collectively approach the commission for intervention.”

Chandragupta Maurya project, to be directed by Aditya Dhar and backed by Jio Studios. He is said to be in talks with YRF head honcho Aditya Chopra for a film

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Food, according to Hansal Mehta, is one of the strongest places memory lives. And Khana Dil Se, his way of holding on to his family’s memories. “I realized the recipes my mother, aunt, and father-in-law made would slip away if no one held on to them,” reflected the filmmaker.

The filmmaker, known for politically charged dramas like Shahid, Scam 1992 and Scoop, says food became another way to talk about memory. “Food is one of the last places memory lives,” he says, adding that the pilot episode is an attempt to “find and reinvent” his mother’s Undhiyu. 

So, Mehta went back to the kitchen for Khana Dil Se, just as he had done in the early 1990s when he directed the genre-defining cooking show, Khana Khazana. But this time, there’s a new ingredient — Artificial Intelligence (AI). Agreeing that filmmakers’ concerns about AI replacing artistes are legitimate, he asserted that AI is not at the forefront of his show.

“The families and their recipes are what the show is about. AI is a tool that helps me tell that story. Working the conventional way means animation budgets, period reconstructions, and location shoots. These costs put this kind of show out of reach for almost everyone. AI lets me do that visual work at a fraction of the time and cost.” 

Even as we have seen a surge in competitive cooking shows, meaningful culinary storytelling is absent from Indian platforms. That’s a void Mehta hopes to fill with his YouTube show. 

“We have travel-and-eat shows, we have competitions, we have celebrity chef formats. What we don’t have are enough shows documenting our recipes. Somebody Feed Phil is a wonderful show, but it’s an outsider’s affectionate gaze, and that’s not the same as an insider’s archive. India has, conservatively, a few hundred distinct culinary traditions, most of them undocumented in any serious filmed form. The platforms might not be wrong that conventional food shows have lost captivity. They’re wrong about why. Audiences haven’t stopped caring about food. They’ve stopped accepting cooking shows that have become more like a sports league than a kitchen. The plan is to make something good enough that the question of where it sits primary network, streaming, somewhere we haven’t thought of yet becomes a happy problem rather than a strategic one. I’ve been around long enough to know you can’t reverse-engineer a hit by deciding the platform first. You make the show. If it’s the show people are talking about, the platforms come. I’d love for ambitious, archival, slow-cooked food television to find its way back to the kind of mainstream audience Khana Khazana once had. There’s a generation that grew up watching Sanjeev on Sunday mornings and is now raising children of their own. I think they’re ready for a food show that takes them, and the food, seriously again."

The show also leans heavily into the politics of food, something Mehta says was inspired by Anthony Bourdain’s worldview. “Bourdain was right about nearly everything, and food being political was the most important thing he kept saying. Take Gosht Nihari. We tend to think of nihari as a single dish, Lucknow’s, Delhi’s, or Karachi’s. It’s actually three different preparations across a border that didn’t exist when the recipe was written. Nihari was perhaps born in 18th-century Shahjahanabad as labourers’ food. A pot left on dying embers overnight so it would be ready before fajr prayer. The Nawabs of Awadh refined it in Lucknow, perfumed it with kewra and rose. After Partition, it crossed into Karachi in the mouths of refugees and became a national obsession in Pakistan. Three cities, three versions of a single dish, separated by a line on a map. Most of the great Indian dishes are working-class food that the courts later adopted, not the other way around. Nihari belonged to soldiers and dyers before it belonged to Nawabs. Undhiyu was farmers’ communal food, with multiple Patidar and Koli families contributing vegetables to a single pot buried in a shared field at Uttarayan. Butter chicken, which will be featured in our third episode, was invented by Punjabi refugees in 1947 Delhi who had to figure out what to do with leftover tandoori chicken. Almost every dish we celebrate as heritage was, at some point, a survival strategy."

Actor Radhikka Madan, who has spent over eight years in the Hindi film industry, says the journey has been “adventurous”. Currently, she is basking in the response to her recent release Subedaar, along with a notable endorsement from filmmaker Hansal Mehta, who recently said she “deserves better opportunities” in Bollywood.

Asked if she feels she hasn’t been offered the right opportunities, Radhikka says, “Whoever I’ve met in this industry, nobody feels they’ve achieved it all. Everybody feels that lack… that if only they got a certain project or worked with a particular filmmaker. I am yet to meet someone who says they are fully satisfied.”

However, she admits Mehta’s words have struck a chord. “Of course, it validates the itch I’ve had for years to strive to be the best. That acknowledgement is enough, because all you want is to be seen and heard. His words have given me fuel for years,” she says.

Recalling her initial reaction, Radhikka adds, “I was almost teary-eyed. When you enter this industry, you want to make a mark and be noticed by filmmakers you look up to. When someone like him supports you or voices what you’ve been feeling, it means a lot. It fuels my passion. I want to work harder and stay even more hungry.”

In 2021, Captain India was announced with Kartik Aaryan as its face and Hansal Mehta at the helm. But for the next five years, no progress was in sight. Delayed? Shelved? Just as the industry was wondering what happened to Aaryan’s film, there is news. mid-day has learnt that the aviation drama will finally go on floors this summer.

“The makers are eyeing the window between May and July for filming,” said an insider.

With Mehta no longer attached to Captain India, Shimit Amin of Chak De India (2007) fame took over the project. Recently, there were murmurs that he too had exited the film.

But a source close to the production said, “The delays caused these rumours. But the film is on track and Shimit is helming it. Kartik is shooting for another T-Series film, after which he will start this.”

Actor-screenwriter Aditya Rawal, the son of actor Paresh Rawal and theatre performer Swaroop Sampat, is currently riding high on the recognition coming his way after the release of the web series Daldal, where he plays Sajid and the film Subedaar, where he plays the antagonist, Prince. The 32-year-old shares his perspective on success, family legacy, and the effort required to carve his own path.

“The feeling has been overwhelming. I have never been part of something this big; seeing my work being discussed like this is surreal,” Aditya says of the positive response to his roles.

Speaking of his father’s reaction, Aditya says, “He enjoyed my performance and praised my work. But as it’s said, you have never arrived, so I feel abhi bhi bahut time hain. This character of Prince was my small ode to my father and the antagonistic roles he played back in the ‘90s.”

Addressing the topic of nepotism early on, Aditya adds, “I am my father’s son, and privilege remains. This fact surely gives us access to the industry that other people will not have in the same space.” However, he quickly clarifies his family’s approach to his career. “In our family, we never expected our parents to create a path for us, or for my father to go to town trying to find me work. So I knew I had to put my head down and keep walking.”

Aditya, who co-wrote films like Panipat (2017) with Ashutosh Gowarikar, reveals that he intentionally maintained a low profile early in his career. “I always knew I could write and act both. People always say I made a silent entry in the industry, maine aapne jab tak koi kaam nahin kiya toh uss level ka dhindhora kya pitna,” he adds.

Sharing details of his upcoming works, Aditya also mentions that he is eager to collaborate with his father. “Other than Hansal Mehta’s Gandhi, there are two more projects, one is a film opposite Sanya Malhotra and the other a series. There are also two scripts that I am working on. If all goes well with the first one, I have my father in mind, and we can share the screen for the first time.”

Aditya had written several films before debuting as an actor in Bamfaad (2020).

After nearly seven years away from acting, actor Rhea Chakraborty returns to the screen with filmmaker Hansal Mehta’s upcoming series. Her comeback follows a prolonged period of legal battles and public scrutiny following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June 2020, whom she had dated from early 2019 until his passing.

Opening up about the emotional struggle of being away from her acting career, she says, “Letting go of this dream of acting, which I had worked towards for over a decade, took many sessions of therapy. I had to stop thinking about it because I couldn’t have it; I didn’t get acting opportunities.”

Rhea’s last theatrical release was Chehre (2021); she later appeared in the reality show Roadies (2023, 2025) and hosted her podcast Chapter 2 (2024-26). Yet, she was largely away from mainstream acting. The 33-year-old adds that the break was not by choice: “I had to pause, with discomfort and pain. Maybe I wouldn’t have been ready immediately after what happened anyway, emotionally, mentally, or physically. The years when no one wanted to work with me were excruciatingly painful. God and the universe have given us all resilience; we just have to tap into it. Had it not been for my friends and family, I don’t think I would have come out of it the way I did.”

Rohan Kanawade, Nikkhil Advani

Rarely does this emotion strike filmmakers, but when it does, it hits hard. Nikkhil Advani experienced it — that feeling of a filmmaker reminding you of your younger self — when he watched Rohan Kanawade’s Sabar Bonda. “Rohan is the filmmaker we set out to be 30 years ago. But along the way, we had to take other decisions,” he says. “The purity with which Rohan has made the film is beautiful.”

Sabar Bonda tells the story of Anand, who, while navigating the grief of his father’s demise, finds love in Balya. The Marathi film has Advani, Vikramaditya Motwane, Sai Tamhankar, and Nagraj Popatrao Manjule as its executive producers. It’s notable how the movie brought several filmmakers together. Not a rare phenomenon, according to independent producer Shiladitya Bora, who recently told us that mainstream Bollywood filmmakers have more unity than their indie counterparts.

But Advani disagrees. “You can’t even name five mainstream filmmakers who are united. In the 1990s, 44 Aram Nagar was Sudhir Mishra’s office where all of us — myself, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Irrfan Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Anurag Kashyap — used to hang out. Today, there’s more unity among indie artistes because their struggle is the same.” 

As an executive producer, Advani is happy to nurture Kanawade and hopefully ease some of his struggles. Asked whether he felt almost envious while watching the director’s work, and he admits, “When I saw Aligarh [2016], I said, ‘Wow! Hansal [Mehta], what have you done?’ When we saw Udaan [2010], we were like, ‘Who is Vikram!’ I want to be jealous of [good] films when I see them.”

Advani, who made his directorial debut with Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), knows that preserving one’s voice is far from easy. For Kanawade, he has a simple advice.

“He has to learn from me. I made Salaam-E-Ishq [2007] as my second film. My [approach] was that since nobody is giving me credit for my first love story, I’ll make six love stories. The decision was wrong because it was [born] out of arrogance. But you have to tell yourself, ‘I won’t go against [my instincts]’.”

There are roles that are all too familiar for an actor, and then there are those that take them on a path of discovery. While stepping into the role of Mihir Virani for Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2 came naturally to Amar Upadhyay, being part of Hansal Mehta’s Gandhi led him to a novel character. The actor reveals that he plays Dr Pranjivan Mehta in the Pratik Gandhi-led web series that examines the man behind the Mahatma. “All I can say is the audience will see me in a different look and performance,” says Upadhyay.

Little is known about Pranjivan, who was among the Mahatma’s closest friends. A Doctor of Medicine (MD) and lawyer by education, and a jeweller by profession, he met Gandhi when the latter arrived in London in 1888 to study law. That encounter at Victoria Hotel marked the start of a deep friendship, and later Pranjivan provided financial and moral support to the leader’s movements in South Africa and India, including the Satyagraha movement. Some historical accounts suggest that he was the first to refer to Gandhi as Mahatma in 1909, when he used the term in a letter addressed to Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Gandhi’s book Hind Swaraj is said to be based on the exchanges between Pranjivan and him. 

Upadhyay is thrilled to portray a man who deeply influenced the leader. Interestingly, the actor had auditioned for another part. “But Hansal sir felt I should play Dr Pranjivan Mehta. Many are unaware of Dr Mehta, but after the show releases, people will know his role in Gandhiji’s life. It was a challenge to put myself in that era. But when I got into the attire, I slipped into that persona automatically. Plus, Hansal sir was always there to tell us if we went overboard.”

For the actor, who was briefly seen in Scoop (2023), reuniting with Hansal is always a joy. He notes that the filmmaker has unusual trust in his artistes. “He can gauge whether an actor can manage on his own or needs help. Sometimes, when he knows that two actors are capable of taking the scene [in a particular direction], he may change their style. He can calmly handle any situation. In the worst of situations, he will say, ‘No problem, ho jayega’.”

Upadhyay is equally impressed by his co-actor Pratik. “He is a simple and down-to-earth actor who is very involved in his craft,” he shares.

Pranjivan Mehta was an MD who first met Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, then 19, when the latter had arrived in London in 1888. The two became friends. Over the years, he provided financial and moral support to Gandhi’s movements in South Africa and India. He is credited as the first to refer to Gandhi as Mahatma. Historical accounts suggest that in 1909, he used the term in a letter addressed to Gopal Krishna Gokhale.

What’s Hansal Mehta’s next after Gandhi, said to be his most ambitious work to date? Murmurs over the past few months suggested that in a departure from his penchant for real-life stories, the filmmaker was set to explore a business drama (New show on the cards, Feb 21). Now, mid-day has learnt that Mehta is ready to take the web series on floors in Sri Lanka this month. The Netflix offering, starring Anil Kapoor and Vijay Varma, tells the story of power, money, and morals through two business rivals whose ugly clash sends shockwaves in the financial world.

Last month, Mehta apparently headed to Sri Lanka for a recce for the big-budget drama that is produced by Vikram Malhotra.

A source reveals, “Hansal and Vikram are keeping everything under wraps. With Anil and Vijay playing high-flying business magnates, the series will be shot across Mumbai, Sri Lanka, Serbia, and Georgia. The series — written by Niren Bhatt, Ankur Pathak, and Nikhil Nair — is an incisive look at the cut-throat nature of today’s financial world, where money, manipulation, and greed are part of the game. Anil and Vijay’s characters, though ruthless in their individual pursuit of power and wealth, are shown to have contrasting ideologies and work ethics. That sets the stage for a showdown, and the story follows how they take on each other. If things go as planned, it will be shot in a straight schedule from June to September.”

Joining the male leads in the drama are Neha Dhupia and Raima Sen. “Hansal is bringing together an eclectic ensemble cast. Neha and Raima portray strong women who wield power in their own way and exert influence in the big boys’ club,” adds the source.

From Shahid (2012) to Aligarh (2015), from Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story (2020) to Scoop (2023), Mehta has created an enviable filmography based on true stories. However, the source says that this time, the creator-director has built a fictional world, one set in a field rarely seen on Indian screens. 

“While the West has had sterling business dramas, Indian OTT entertainment hasn’t quite explored the genre. Hansal and Vikram wanted to tap into the genre by weaving a tale of ambition and betrayal.” 

mid-day reached out to Malhotra and Mehta. Both remained unavailable for comment.

Pratik (left) was accused of being highly manipulative and emotionally abusive towards women by filmmaker Abhinav Singh (right)

On Thursday evening, filmmaker Abhinav Singh took to Instagram and accused cinematographer Pratik Shah of being “highly manipulative and emotionally abusive” towards women. Pratik is best known for his work in Vikramaditya Motwane’s Jubilee, CTRL and Neeraj Ghaywan’s recent Cannes outing Homebound, where he was present with the film’s team.

Abhinav’s Instagram stories stirred up a hornet’s nest. In a post, the filmmaker, who had directed the short film Yatri Kripya Dhyan De, said that multiple women reached out to him to share their testimonies, and some even posted them on their own social media handles, narrating their experiences with Pratik. The latter deactivated his Instagram account soon after.

Dharma Productions, producers of Homebound, in a statement on Saturday, said, “At Dharma Productions, we have a zero-tolerance policy against inappropriate behaviour and sexual harassment towards any individual working with us in any capacity, and we treat sexual harassment cases very seriously. Mr. Pratik Shah was a freelancer on the project Homebound and was working on it for a limited period. His engagement with us has been completed. During this limited period, our internal committee for POSH did not receive any complaints against Shah from any cast or crew during his association on Homebound."

According to THR India, a complaint was lodged against Pratik with the IWCC (The Indian Women Cinematographers’ Collective) four years ago by a young cinematographer, and the Collective warned him, stressing that such behaviour is unacceptable. Why was there no accountability despite this step? Was merely a warning enough? Why was this information not in the public domain? This has largely been the sentiment.

When we investigated the matter, a source told Bombay Times, “IWCC is a forum. It’s a collective with no legal standing. It’s not an organization. It was formed by female technicians 7-8 years ago, and the complaint made to them was anonymous. They took cognizance of it in the best way they could. The forum tries to provide women with a safe space.”

We reached out to Vikramaditya Motwane, Neeraj Ghaywan and Pratik Shah, who hadn’t responded till the time of going to press.

On Saturday, Hansal Mehta shared a note on X, which read, “Abuse thrives in silence. It festers in fear. Predatory behaviour by men in positions of power must be investigated thoroughly, and if found true, must be called out — unequivocally, and without delay. For too long, predators have weaponised influence, privilege, and fear to silence survivors. That silence must be broken. But let’s be clear — abuse of power is not confined to one gender. Women in positions of authority, too, have inflicted harm. Abuse has many forms. It is not always sexual. Mental, emotional and psychological abuse can be just as scarring. Just as violating (sic).”

He added, “Workspaces — especially creative ones — often cloak toxicity in the name of ‘passion’ or ‘genius.’ That must stop. No art, no film, no script is worth the cost of someone’s safety or sanity. Victims need voice. They need redress. They need a system that listens — and acts. Accountability is not cancel culture. It is culture correction. We owe it to ourselves, and to those who come after us, to make our spaces safer. Cleaner. Kinder. Call out the predators. Call out the habitual abuser. Hold them accountable. Let no power be above decency (sic).”

Actor Mukul Dev, 54, who went on to build an over 25-year long career across mediums and languages, passed away on Friday night following a brief illness. For many in the Hindi film and television industry, it’s the loss of a kind friend who loved telling stories and bad jokes. To the world, filmmaker Hansal Mehta first collaborated with Dev in 2018 on his Rajkummar Rao-starrer, Omerta.

Dev is credited as the co-writer. But their collaborations go back a long way, and their friendship even longer. “We became friends because we used to go to the same gym. And then we would hang out together all the time. We were literally inseparable. He stood by me during my darkest days,” shares Mehta.

Dev made his film as well as television debut in 1996. The director shares he worked with the actor in both mediums. “We did television together, briefly. We also did a couple of films together, but none of them got released,” he says, before adding that through their intimate friendship, he discovered the storyteller in Dev.

“He used to keep narrating story ideas. In fact, he brought me the story of Omertà. From the time he pitched, the film took almost 14 years to get made. Once I completed the film, I called him and said, ‘Mukul, film ban gayi hai’,” the filmmaker shares.

Dev offered an unwavering support as a friend, says actor Dipshikkha Naggpal, who starred with him in Teri Bhabhi Hai Pagle (2018) and the Vikram Bhatt-directed 2019 series Maya.

Reminiscing about their two decade friendship, she says, “He was an amazing human being. He was a pilot, came from a good background, and was very sophisticated in the way he spoke. He was a thorough gentleman, humble and an extremely kind human being. He was also a very good astrologer and would often read my chart! There was so much more to him than being an actor — he had a personality. He had an amazing face, so I would always take his pictures from different angles. When I told him that women were crushing on him, he would say, ‘Where are these women?’”

It wasn’t just the audience who gushed over Dev’s looks. His peers did it too. And he loved it, Mehta tells us. “He was the most handsome friend I’ve ever had — beautiful eyes, great bone structure, and what a face!” Mehta smiles.

“And he had a good amount of vanity. He could not handle a little bit of paunch or anything showing. He would run on the treadmill. He was so conscious. He was a beast on the treadmill. He would run for an hour at a stretch. And he needed a mirror in front of him to be able to run because he would run and only look at himself,” Mehta laughs.

But he wasn’t the same in the last few years, the filmmaker shares. “The last few years, he just let go. I spoke to him few months ago and told him, 'Why are you not looking after yourself?' He started laughing. He was always laughing. He also used to crack some of the worst jokes possible!” 

But what remained constant was Dev brimming with story ideas. In fact, he would often tell Mehta that he wished to narrate them to him. The narration couldn't happen, a regret the filmmaker harbours.

"He once sent me a voice note saying, 'I want to tell you stories. I have many stories. You listen to them once. You'll like them.' He had been telling me stories for a long time. We kept promising to meet. I would say, 'Come and see me, come to my office. Let's hang out.' But that day never happened. I feel when people are alive, we don't meet enough. Then all you live with later is the regret that you did not meet enough," says a sombre Mehta.

But Dev lives on in the stories and memories shared by his friends and colleagues. Like Mehta tells us about the time when Dev saw his writer’s credit in Omerta. “He was going through a low phase at the time. Seeing the credits, he thanked me profusely, saying, 'Tune mere credit de diya usme yaar. Thank you for doing that.' He just felt so validated and seen because of that one credit. He took so much pride in that," the director shares. Or that moment when the two friends partied all night to celebrate their collaboration. 

"I remember, we had a screening in Delhi. And then Mukul and I partied till the early hours of the morning. I will always remember the gleam in his eyes, and that mysterious smile. And every time you wanted to click a picture, the pout would happen,” Mehta smiles.

Hansal Mehta and Deepshikha Nagpal

For Vedang Raina, being given a shout-out in filmmaker Hansal Mehta’s list of promising new faces in the Hindi film industry is a form of validation which doesn’t “compare to anything else”.

Earlier this year, Hansal praised the actor's chops, calling him a “screen-stealer”. Ask him about it and Vedang says, “As a newcomer, getting validation from a filmmaker whom I admire is a great honour. This has motivated me to keep getting better.”

Despite the high praise, it’s been an uncertain time in the film industry and getting work that connects with audiences is a bigger challenge than ever. How is he navigating this? “Covid was a weird turning point and I came to films right after that. It’s a time where there is a rapid shift and a change in how the industry is working.”

However, the actor, who debuted with The Archies (2023), hasn’t been seen on the big screen since Jigra in 2024. He admits, “It’s difficult — you can’t predict anything. But as an artiste, it gives me the freedom to pick things that I believe in. I think my generation of actors will be the herald of this change.”

The 24-year-old, who is rumoured to be part of a romantic film directed by Imtiaz Ali, adds that the progression of a male lead has also changed: “Things that used to work don’t anymore. There’s no formula of, ‘First do an actioner then a rom-com’. It’s about choosing interesting scripts. I’m excited to see what kind of scripts come to me.”

“I feel lighter, so does the world around me,” says filmmaker Hansal Mehta as we get on a call with him to talk about the new journey he has undertaken, one that leads him to a fitter, freer self. In times when conversations around health, fitness, and weight loss are often buried under stigma or sensationalism, the filmmaker’s take on his journey with Mounjaro for weight loss is refreshingly honest. Excerpts from the interview:

I’d been struggling with weight for a few years. That led to insulin resistance and early signs of metabolic disease. I was working out, doing everything I could, but the cycle wasn’t breaking. I was first put on Ozempic [semaglutide], which helped to an extent. Later, my doctor prescribed Mounjaro, at a slightly higher-than-basic dose. It’s been nearly two years, and in the last six months, my sugar [levels] have normalized and I’ve lost 10–11 kilos. But everything I’ve done has been under the supervision of my physician, Dr Vishesh Agrawal. Mounjaro isn’t a magic pill. It works as part of a larger, carefully managed plan.

I believe in research, data, and modern medicine. If something has been shown to work, and is prescribed under supervision, I’m open to it. There shouldn’t be stigma around using medical tools that can help. Talking about it helps others who may be silently struggling. Obesity, diabetes, and lifestyle diseases cause both physical and psychological damage. 

Yes, it becomes a meme fest. There’s misinformation, like the whole ‘Ozempic face’ theory—which, in my experience, comes from starvation and poor lifestyle choices. Medicine alone cannot do that to you. The use of modern medicine has become this dark secret. Anyway people talk about Bollywood as if we consume drugs. So by not talking about it, you’re making it look [shady].

I avoid sugar — but not completely. I drink occasionally. If I do, I make sure to compensate with an extra workout. I feel lighter mentally. I was already on this journey before I began work on Gandhi, and it turned out to be one of my healthiest shoots. I take care of how I dress and feel on set, and I think everyone should, not just actors. When you feel good, you create better.

Some common side effects of Mounjaro are nausea, diarrhoea, constipation, and indigestion. Mr Mehta had some of these symptoms, but we were able to help him and negate them because he was constantly in touch with me. With appropriate dosing and medication, the side effects can be tackled. Stopping the use of the medicine depends on the patient’s goal.

- Dr Vishesh Agrawal, consulting physician and diabetologist

Over the past year, much of the conversation in the Hindi film industry has been around rising entourage costs, films failing to draw audiences to the theatres, escalating fees of actors, and the need to rein them in. From Hansal Mehta to Shoojit Sircar, filmmakers weigh in on why not just production budgets but also the overall quality of films are impacted. Here’s what they said:

Vivek Agnihotri, who’s been vocal about issues related to the film industry, recently wrote on X, “Bollywood is in shambles. And that’s good for the industry. To erect a new building, you must demolish the old one. This is that time. Today, Bollywood has hardly any independent producers. No new producers. No fresh ideas. No innovative distribution or marketing strategies. A few years ago, there were a dozen studios — now just two or three remain, and they too are monopolistic and here for reasons other than filmmaking.”

The 51-year-old The Kashmir Files filmmaker further added that the ‘passion’ for making films was overpowered by ‘corporate greed’, and claimed, “...there are no promising new stars. If you want to cast someone from the 21–35 age group, you’ll find almost none — neither heroes nor heroines...”

Vipul Shah, known for directing hits such as Namaste London (2007) and producing box office successes such as The Kerala Story (2023), too weighed in on why today’s films struggle to resonate with the masses the way they once did.

“I feel there are many reasons for this, and we are going through a phase which has lasted for quite some time...,” he recently told ANI. He further pointed out that the core problem is that filmmakers have stopped making movies for the larger Indian audience. “The first issue is that we have stopped making movies for Bharat. We make movies for a small group of people watching in 25, 50, or 100 selected multiplexes. Our expectations are that only those people should like our films,” he added.

Vikram Bhatt, whose latest directorial Tumko Meri Kasam tanked at the box office, criticized Bollywood’s pause on “massy” films. The 56-year-old told ANI, “Everyone forgot the masses and went to niche films. And during Covid, the audience’s habit of watching films in theatres disappeared. We stopped making massy films. If you see the South industry, it’s flourishing because it always prioritises the mass audience. They still want to see superheroes, want to see Pushpa, want to see Kantara. They still consider the villain a villain, still whistle and clap. Hum toh waisi films banana bhul gaye jise dekhkar audience seeti aur taaliya bajaye.”

Hansal Mehta, who is currently shooting for his upcoming series Gandhi, had a pointed response for those who predicted the “doom” of Bollywood. “...pause. The industry isn’t dying. It’s waiting to be disrupted,” the filmmaker wrote on X, adding, “The problem isn’t the audience losing interest. It’s that investment is being funnelled into the safe, the recycled, the formulaic.”

The 56-year-old, known for his works such as Shahid (2012), Scam 1992 (2020) and Scoop (2023), further wrote, “The future of Hindi cinema lies in betting on raw talent, bold storytelling and directors who can take a script and direct the hell out of it. The past few years have proved: stars don’t necessarily bring audiences; conviction does. A new generation of actors, filmmakers, and writers is ready to change the game.”

He went on to name actors such as Adarsh Gourav, Vedang Raina, Ishaan Khatter and Zahaan Kapoor as promising talents that Bollywood can place its hopes on.

Shoojit Sircar voiced his displeasure over the steep fees demanded by certain actors. The filmmaker, whose 2024 release I Want to Talk underperformed at the box office, said, “I won’t say much about people’s entourages or what they charge, but I am sure of one thing: Popular actors will have to lower their fees. If they don’t, directors will stop approaching them. We have to make a film within cost now, if we want the audience to come and watch it. Go expensive wherever needed. If the director visualizes a shot a particular way, pay more for that. The director should not compromise on his vision to save money for the actor’s fees.”

With his last big-screen offering, The Buckingham Murders (2024), Hansal Mehta teamed up with Kareena Kapoor Khan for the first time. Now, another maiden collaboration is on the anvil for the filmmaker—this time with Saif Ali Khan, actor and Kapoor’s husband.

“Saif and I are working on a film. I am directing it. It’s an adaptation of a book,” Mehta revealed to mid-day, on the sidelines of the Cinevesture International Film Festival that was held in Chandigarh.

Khan, who has beautifully straddled mainstream films, middle-of-the-road cinema and web series, has been on the director’s wish-list of collaborators. But if there’s someone who tops the list, it’s Kapoor. Mehta’s fondness for the superstar is evident as he wishes for another outing with her. In fact, he is actively planning one.

“We have sent a script to Kareena. Every time I look at a script, I ask, ‘Can we do something with Kareena?’ You want to work with her over and over again; she is a different beast altogether. Kareena is one of the most prepared persons on set, a thorough professional, and always happy. She is a big star, but it was a privilege. It was as if I was working with Pratik [Gandhi] or Rajkummar [Rao].”

A lot is happening on Mehta’s work front. Besides his next with Khan, he has his ambitious web series, Gandhi, and an actioner. While mid-day had reported that he was keen to cast Lakshya in the film (Hansal Mehta’s next to be an actioner with Lakshya, Jan 4), the filmmaker confirmed the project, but remained mum on its cast.

There’s more for Mehta, who launched his production house this January and has set several projects into motion. He shared, “We are producing an outrageous comedy, and a slasher film. We’re also looking at co-producing a zombie film. There is also an unusual love story in the pipeline.”

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has expressed his dismay at streaming platform Amazon Prime Video for editing Bandit Queen (1994) without his permission, addressing the hurdles for freedom of expression even on OTT.

He wrote on X on Tuesday, “I wonder if OTT platforms would let me make #BanditQueen the way I made it years ago. The Bandit Queen on #AmazonPrime is unrecognizable from my film. Someone has cut it beyond recognition. And yet it carries my name as Director. And no one asked me! Are we lesser beings than Western Directors? Would they have the guts to cut a Chris Nolan film without his permission? (sic)”

The biopic portrayed the life of Phoolan Devi, dreaded dacoit-turned-Member of Parliament, and earned Shekhar global acclaim. It also led to his Hollywood directorial debut with the Oscar-nominated Elizabeth (1998).

The issue began when the 79-year-old appreciated the British mini series Adolescence for “its next level story telling”, to which filmmaker Sudhir Mishra replied, “Nobody will let us do something like that. One should do it as an independent film.” Shekhar then pointed out the edits in his film.

“Today’s @shekharkapur with your Hollywood successes would be allowed to make it. But the Shekhar Kapur before Bandit Queen would definitely not be allowed by any OTT to make Bandit Queen the way he wants to. Cutting/Hacking your film without your permission is shocking to say the least. (sic),” wrote Kunal.

Hansal commented, “That is the point I’ve been trying to make @shekharkapur. Are we here to foster superior storytelling or to produce cattle-feed ? Leave the good stories, the innovative storytelling, the silences, the slow burn, the experiments, the audacity, the budgets to the superior minds from the west. Welcome back to the days of colonization. (sic)”

The re-release of films has led people to rediscover the movies that didn’t receive the kind of box office success they deserved when they hit the screens years ago. Hansal Mehta, who recently held a screening of Shahid, was thrilled with the response to the film headlined by Rajkummar Rao. While there have been talks about the film’s re-release, there is not much clarity on that yet. Mehta, who has also made films like Citylights, Aligarh, and the web series Scam and Scoop, hopes the film gets a “dignified re-release”.

He says, “At that time, Rajkummar and I were at a different place. Today, more people know us, so at least there’s an audience that has evolved and wants to watch our work. We are trying to figure out a way to re-release this film. Hopefully, we’ll have a dignified re-release.”

The screening of Shahid saw a packed house, and Mehta admits it was moving to see the ‘housefull’ tag.

“I was overwhelmed. Just seeing a packed show was very moving. It tells you that all hope is not lost,” Mehta says.

Speaking about the commercial aspect of filmmaking, he shares, “I cannot be left unbothered by it (box office) because the system forces you to bother about it. But I don’t make films just for the box office. What I believe is that films don’t fail, budgets fail. My job is to secure the film by making it at a cost that is recoverable without relying purely on box-office numbers. So, it is about leveraging and hedging your risks correctly, and I do that. I am very conscious about the budget at which I can make my films.”

Reflecting on the trend of re-release of films, some of which are just a few years old, Mehta shares, “Tumbbad did very well, and that sort of encouraged people that maybe there’s a second chance for their films. Good films never die. A weekend cannot decide the fate of a film or define the legacy of a film.”

In today’s era of heightened sensitivity, is filmmaking more challenging? Mehta replies, “I don’t know… it is just noise. As a filmmaker, I have to wear blinkers and make what I want. My next series, Gandhi, is as fearless as Shahid was. You should keep your head down and do what you want to do. If I want to make an out-and-out commercial film, I will do it with conviction and have fun because I’ve grown up on those films. Whatever you do, make the film with purity and honesty.”

Ask Mehta whether he plans on making an action film, and he says, “You will see a comedy film and a big action film made by me very soon. It’s a completely whacked-out, crazy comedy, and the other one is a well-mounted, hardcore heartland action film. I’ll make only what I enjoy making; otherwise, I would rather not do it.”