Filmmaker Hansal Mehta heaped praises on actor Shah Rukh Khan and his box office hit Pathaan. In a new interview, Hansal said that Pathaan has proved that ‘a good film will reach the audience’. He also added that a good film and a good man can’t be stopped for ‘too long’. Speaking about his films, Hansal Mehta added that he approaches his films with ‘utmost sensitivity’ and doesn’t judge the characters. (Also Read | Anupam Kher talks about success of Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan, boycott trends)
Pathaan has so far raised ₹832 crore gross worldwide in 12 days. The Siddharth Anand-directed film also stars John Abraham, Deepika Padukone, Dimple Kapadia and Ashutosh Rana. Pathaan is the fourth movie in producer Aditya Chopra’s spy universe, following Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger and Tiger Zinda Hai, and War, featuring Hrithik Roshan.
In an interview with news agency PTI, Hansal said, “Pathaan is as political as perhaps Faraaz, but the expression is different. The way it is done is different, the audience is different. All kinds of films need to be made. If my film has to be made then a Rohit Shetty film also should be made. A Pathaan has to flourish for my film to breathe. The industry is interdependent…A good film is a good film and it will reach the audience. And that is what Pathaan has proven. You cannot keep a good film and a good man down for too long. There are some really good films that didn’t find an audience. But then they found an audience on OTT or somewhere. Times are changing.”
Talking about his projects, Hansal said, “My intention is to gain a greater understanding of our world, of our times, to seek empathy for the people who suffer through this, through storytelling. The larger human empathy is for the people who go through this kind of ordeal. I will continue doing it. I approach my films with utmost sensitivity. I don’t judge my characters, I don’t pass judgments through the film, I explore them as human beings.”
Hansal’s latest film Faraaz, based on the July 2016 terror attack on a bakery in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was released recently. The film stars Zahaan Kapoor and Aditya Rawal in the lead roles. Also starring Juhi Babbar and Aamir Ali, the film had a limited release on February 3. Faraaz is backed by Anubhav Sinha and Bhushan Kumar-led T-Series.
Hansal has several projects in the pipeline including Netflix show Scoop; a film with Kareena Kapoor, which is in post-production; the second season of Scam; an anthology with Pratik Gandhi and Rajpal Yadav, and the much-anticipated Gandhi series.