Hansal Mehta recalls working with Kangana as 'painful'
Currently basking in the tremendous success of his latest web series Scam 1992, Hansal Mehta, in an interview, threw light on his career so far, successes, failures, and good as well as bad memories. He also talked about his 2017 directorial Simran, which starred actor Kangana Ranaut. However, the filmmaker admitted that the experience wasn't too pleasant. Here's more on what he said.
Mehta called the movie an 'unnecessary aberration' in his career
Upon being asked how he looks back at the experience of making Simran, Mehta recently told Huffington Post, "I sometimes wish I never made it. There was no need." "It was an unnecessary aberration in my career. It makes me sad, it could have been a much better film," he said, adding, "It was a painful time."
'After Simran's release, I went through a low phase'
Mehta said it is difficult to speak about the experience even today. "After the film released, I went through a very low phase mentally," he said, also revealing he sought therapy thereafter. "The film affected my mental health. I went into a shell...I was in a period of very low self-esteem," he added. Notably, Simran received mixed to poor reviews and did mediocre business.
Writing 'Scam 1992' and 'Chhalaang' helped Mehta
"You can't depend on one film to heal the wounds of the other. You have to heal yourself," said Mehta. "Ultimately, we started writing Scam in 2017. That writing process and working with these writers gave a very positive spirit... I had a great time writing the show. Then Chhalaang happened. Just being on set with Raj (Rajkummar Rao) was uplifting," he revealed.
'Film not worth it if painful on a personal level'
Mehta opined if the process is "painful on a personal level," the project is not worth it. He added "I enjoyed Kangana's company outside the set... We used to go out." He, however, was unhappy with Kangana's behavior on sets. "(She) completely took charge of the set and began directing other actors," he added. Mehta revealed he "lost a lot of money" on Simran.
'If I see her, it will be cordial'
Mehta, however, said he holds no grudges against Kangana. "We haven't spoken for a long time... If I see her, it will be very cordial. I have no ill feelings for anyone," he said. He also acknowledged that Kangana is a good actor. "Who knows? Tomorrow there might be something and we might want to make a film together. Bitterness is pointless," he added.
Kangana was earlier slammed by 'Manikarnika' director
To recall, something similar happened during the making of Kangana-starrer Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi as well. Krish Jagarlamudi, who co-directed the film with Kangana, had called her out for undermining his work. "I am curious to know who will work with Kangana after the kind of reputation she has acquired for undermining the director and taking over a project," he had said earlier.
Recently, Kashyap leveled a similar allegation against her
Recently, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap also leveled a similar allegation against Kangana. In a series of tweets, he said that he does not recognize this new version of the actor who abuses her directors, sits in edits, and chops the roles of her co-stars. "By not showing the mirror to Kangana, you are finishing her. She is talking nonsense," one of his tweets read.
