Anupam Kher and filmmaker Hansal Mehta engaged in a virtual spat over the 2019 film, The Accidental Prime Minister. After the actor called Hansal a hypocrite, the filmmaker hit back on Friday night “owning his mistake” for being a part of the film. So, what really happened?
It all started when journalist Vir Sanghvi tweeted, “If you want to remember the lies that were told about Manmohan Singh you should rewatch The Accidental Prime Minister. It is not only one of the worst Hindi movies ever made but is an example of how media was used to tarnish the name of a good man.”
Hansal, reacting to it, wrote, “+100.”
This irked Anupam Kher, who played the protagonist Manmohan Singh, and he responded with his criticism of the filmmaker.
The actor tweeted, “The HYPOCRITE in this thread is NOT @virsanghvi. He has the freedom to not like a film.”
Calling out Hansal Mehta, the tweet continued, “But @mehtahansal was the #CreativeDirector of #TheAccidentalPrimeMinister. Who was present at the entire shoot of the film in England! Giving his creative inputs and must have taken the fee also for it. So for him to say 100% to #VirSanghvi’s comment is so messed up and full of double standards!”
“Not that I agree with Mr. Sanghvi but we are all capable of doing bad or indifferent work. But we should OWN it. Not like #HansalMehta trying to earn some brownies from certain section of people. Common Hansal!! Grow up! I still have all our videos and pics of the shoot together!” the post concluded strongly condemning the filmmaker’s “double standards.”
Check out the post here:
The HYPOCRITE in this thread is NOT @virsanghvi. He has the freedom to not like a film. But @mehtahansal was the #CreativeDirector of #TheAccidentalPrimeMinister. Who was present at the entire shoot of the film in England! Giving his creative inputs and must have taken the fee… https://t.co/tkr3H1ChyX
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) December 27, 2024
To this, Hansal Mehta called back with, “Of course I own my mistakes Mr Kher. And I can admit that I made a mistake. Can’t I sir?”
Focusing on the point that it was just a job for him, which he completed with due commitment, the post further read, “I did my job as professionally as I was allowed to. Can you deny that? But it doesn’t mean I have to keep defending the film or that it makes me lose objectivity about my error of judgement.”
The post ended with Hansal Mehta calling out the veteran actor for “evaluating” others with the “same yardstick.”
“About brownie points and hypocrisy I respectfully submit that you seem to be evaluating people by the same yardstick you evaluate yourself,” it concluded.
Check out his tweet here:
Of course I own my mistakes Mr Kher. And I can admit that I made a mistake. Can’t I sir? I did my job as professionally as I was allowed to. Can you deny that? But it doesn’t mean I have to keep defending the film or that it makes me lose objectivity about my error of judgement.… https://t.co/UIgc4Pdvww
— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) December 27, 2024
Coming to the film, The Accidental Prime Minister was directed by Vijay Ratnakar Gutte, where Anupam Khet played Dr Manmohan Singh and Hansal Mehta played Naveen Patnaik.
Besides them, the film also starred Akshaye Khanna as Sanjaya Baru, Suzanne Bernert as Sonia Gandhi, Arjun Mathur as Rahul Gandhi, and Aahana Kumra as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.