In the wake of The Habitat, Khar, getting vandalised after Kunal Kamra’s stand up comedy bit about Maharashtra’s Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, rubbed Shiv Sena workers the wrong way, Bollywood filmmaker Hansal Mehta has recalled his own experience from 25 years ago. He explained how whatever happened wasn’t new to Maharashtra, as he has also lived through the same.
What happened with Kamra is, sadly, not new to Maharashtra. I’ve lived through it myself.
Twenty-five years ago, loyalists of the same (then undivided) political party stormed into my office. They vandalised it, physically assaulted me, blackened my face, and forced me to…
— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) March 24, 2025
Taking to his official X (formerly known as Twitter) handle, Mehta shared how 25 years ago “loyalists of the same (then undivided) political party” had stormed into his office in Mumbai. Not only did they vandalise his office, but they also “physically assaulted me, blackened my face, and forced me to apologise publicly—by falling at the feet of an elderly woman—for a single line of dialogue in my film.” They had taken offence to a dialogue in the film Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar (2000).
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Shedding light on the film, the 56-year-old revealed that the line was harmless and the movie had already been cleared by the Censor Board with 27 cuts. However, it did not matter. “At the so-called “apology” venue, at least 20 political figures arrived in full strength to oversee what can only be described as a public shaming—with 10,000 onlookers and the Mumbai Police watching in silence,” he added.
The Buckingham Murders filmmaker expressed that the incident had left him not only with a bruised body, but also a bruised spirit. “blunted my filmmaking, muted my courage, and silenced parts of me that took years to reclaim. No matter how deep the disagreement, no matter how sharp the provocation—violence, intimidation, and humiliation can never be justified. We owe ourselves, and each other, better. We owe ourselves dialogue, dissent, and dignity,” he concluded.
SEE ALSO: ‘Where Is Freedom Of Speech?’: Jaya Bachchan Question As Shiv Sena Workers Create Ruckus Over Kunal Kamra’s Joke
For those who don’t know, the Manoj Bajpayee and Tabu starrer Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar didn’t receive a good response at the box office from the audiences. Four weeks after the release of the film, Shiv Sena vandalised his office, abused him and demanded that he delete the dialogue from the movie. As reported by DNA, since the movie was set against the backdrop of Koliwada community, a dialogue of the film offended them as it reflected “poorly on the community.”