Hansal Mehta vs Anupam Kher: Filmmaker says ‘name-calling was uncalled for’ after his opinion on ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’

Anupam Kher and Hansal Mehta

Veteran actor Anupam Kher and filmmaker Hansal Mehta recently got into a heated argument on social media. After the demise of the former prime minister of the country, Dr. Manmohan Singh, journalist Vir Sanghvi talked about the 2019 film The Accidental Prime Minister, starring Anupam Kher. The journalist was seen criticizing the movie, and Hansal Mehta, who was the creative director of the movie, has now agreed with the POV. Later, when Hansal Mehta agreed with Vir's point of view, Anupam Kher lashed out at him, calling him a hypocrite. Now, Hansal Mehta has given an interview to clarify his side. While sharing the link to his interview, he called it his "detailed response" to Anupam Kher.

‘Name-calling was uncalled for'- Hansal Mehta

In a conversation with Times of India, he mentioned that the name-calling was uncalled for and said, "Both of us are opinionated individuals and often have differing perspectives on things. What I found uncalled for was the name-calling. However, I refuse to be drawn into that. I also want to make this absolutely clear: I made a professional commitment to work on the film because the producer had supported my film, Shahid, during a time when I was struggling."

He further continued and said, "I was willing to do whatever I could to assist him. I fulfilled that commitment to the best of my ability and within the limited capacity I was allowed by the film's director and creative team. While I stand by my commitment, I also stand by my opinion of what the film ultimately turned out to be."

He continued and said that he could have put out his opinion earlier, but the news of Manmohan Singh's demise reminded him of the film. "Perhaps I could have voiced that opinion earlier, but it was a chapter I had left behind - until I heard the news of Mr. Manmohan Singh's passing. It's unfortunate that my words shifted the focus away from what was meant to be a somber reflection on my error in judgment and instead led to abusive trolling," Mehta said.

About the film

The Accidental Prime Minister, starring Anupam Kher as Dr. Manmohan Singh, released in 2019. It was directed by Vijay Ratnakar Gutte and was based on the 2014 memoir of the same name by Sanjaya Baru.