Hansal Mehta has directed films like Shahid and Aligarh.
In our series Streaming Guide, we list the works of a filmmaker or actor which are available on streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, Eros Now and YouTube among more.
This edition features Bollywood filmmaker Hansal Mehta who has movies like Shahid, Aligarh, Simran and Citylights among more to his credit.
Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar!!
Streaming on: YouTube
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Tabu, Saurabh Shukla
Manoj Bajpayee in a still from Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar!!
2000 film Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar!!, written by Saurabh Shukla, is the story of a small-town man Ram Saran Pandey (Manoj Bajpayee) who moves to Bombay to earn a living, and promises his parents to bring them to the city once he is well-settled. He starts working at a garage and there he meets journalist Kamya (Tabu) who gets impressed with his life story. She publishes several articles on him and becomes friendly with him. This gives him the impression that she likes him. But one day, he comes to know about her love affair and his life changes forever.
Dus Kahaniyaan
Streaming on: YouTube
Cast: Jimmy Sheirgill, Masumeh Makhija
Dus Kahaniyaan is an anthology film featuring ten short stories by filmmakers like Hansal Mehta, Meghna Gulzar, Sanjay Gupta and Apoorva Lakhia. Mehta’s High on the Highway is the tale of two drugged-out lovers played by Jimmy Shergill and Masumeh Makhija who have a habit of taking a walk on the highway after getting high.
Shahid
Streaming on: YouTube, Eros Now, SonyLIV
Cast: Rajkummar Rao
Rajkummar Rao played Shahid Azmi in Shahid.
Shahid, a biopic, is based on the real-life story of slain human rights lawyer Shahid Azmi. He fought cases for the poor and innocent who were jailed or arrested on the charges of being terrorists. In 2010, he was gunned down while defending Fahim Ansari, accused in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Even though Azmi was a hero for the innocents he saved, Mehta doesn’t portray him as a hero or a saint in the biopic. Shahid is a must-watch for its gripping narrative and effective performance.
CityLights
Streaming on: Amazon Prime
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Patralekha, Manav Kaul, Sadiya Siddiqui
Hansal Mehta, who has time and again said he believes in telling real stories through cinema, presented cinephiles with CityLights in 2014. The film, starring Rajkummar Rao and Patralekha, deals with urban poverty. It is the story of a poor farmer and his family who come to Mumbai in search of livelihood but faces adverse conditions upon arrival in the city. The film is an official adaptation of British-Filipino movie Metro Manila, which was Britain’s entry to the Oscars.
Aligarh
Streaming on: YouTube
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Rajkummar Rao, Ashish Vidyarthi, Sumit Gulati, Dilnaz Irani
Manoj Bajpayee in a still from Aligarh.
Aligarh is based on the real-life incident of Aligarh Muslim University professor Srinivas Ramchandra Siras who was suspended from his job because of his sexual orientation. In her review of the film, The Indian Express film critic Shubhra Gupta wrote, “Like in his Shahid, Hansal Mehta and scriptwriter Apurva Asrani have come up with a lead character and a film which shines with authenticity and emotional heft, which leaves you thinking, and which says something we should all listen to, especially in these times when it has become more imperative than ever before: we can be different, but we are us.”
The Last Letter
Streaming on: YouTube
Cast: Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub
The official description of The Last Letter reads, “The Last Letter is a short presentation focusing on the difficulties that Rohith Vemula faced as a student or could be as a Dalit. He was an Indian PhD student at the University of Hyderabad who committed suicide on 17 January 2016.”
Simran
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video
Cast: Kangana Ranaut
Kangana Ranaut starrer Simran is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Hansal Mehta’s Simran, the story of a Gujarati divorcee played by Kangana Ranaut, is just average. It is overpowered by Kangana-ism as you will find a lot of Rani of Queen in Simran of Simran. Other than her performance, there is nothing to take home from the movie. You can skip this one.
| Priyanka Chopra | Imtiaz Ali | Vishal Bhardwaj | Sanjay Leela Bhansali | Ayushmann Khurrana | Hrishikesh Mukherjee | Anees Bazmee | Rajkumar Hirani | | | | |
Bose: Dead/Alive
Streaming on: AltBalaji
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Naveen Kasturia, Patralekha
ALTBalaji series tries to demystify the circumstances surrounding Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s death. It borrows its narrative from Indian author and former journalist Anuj Dhar’s book titled India’s Biggest Cover-up. The director-actor combination of Hansal Mehta and Rajkummar Rao weaves magic yet again in the web series. If you like shows that have a cliffhanger ending, watch Bose: Dead/Alive.