When Hansal Mehta called working with Kangana Ranaut a ‘massive mistake’; Kunal Kamra row reignites spat

An old interview of filmmaker Hansal Mehta commenting on his ‘Simran’ colleague Kangana Ranaut has resurfaced amid their social media spat over comedian Kunal Kamra's comments targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

In a year-old interview with Mashable India, Hansal Mehta called Kangana Ranaut a “really good actor”, but he said working with the actor-turned-politician was a “massive mistake”.

“Galatee hote hai har insaan se (Every human makes a mistake),” the filmmaker said when asked about his experience working with Kangana Ranaut in the 2017 film Simran.

“Working with Kangana Ranaut was a massive mistake,” Mehta said, adding that he did not gel with the actor.

In a word of advice for the BJP MP, the Scam 1992 director said, “She's a very good actor; a really really good actor. I feel she has limited herself by making films about herself.”

What are Hansal Mehta and Kangana Ranaut fighting over now?

Kangana Ranaut had defended the demolition inside the premises of the comedy club where Kunal Kamra's show was filmed, saying that it was done legally.

The actor also said it was wrong to compare the incident at the comedy club with the demolition of her Mumbai office in Pali Hill, Bandra, by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) back in 2020, following her spat with the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government.

The BMC had demolished part of her property on grounds of unauthorised construction. Kangana was not a member of the BJP then.

However, the filmmaker didn't like her defence and said: “Was her [Kangana Ranaut's] house vandalised? Did goons enter her premises? Did they do this to challenge her freedom of expression or for alleged FSI violations? Please enlighten me. Maybe I don’t know the facts.”

In another post on X, Mehta asked Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok, “Since people are talking, I wanted to know how the incident with Kunal Kamra, the venue and the part demolition at Kangana’s home are similar or different. @grok, please enlighten me because when I ask those who indulge in whataboutery, they stop responding.”

The AI chatbox responded to Hansal Mehta saying, “Kunal Kamra’s 2025 incident (Shiv Sena mob vandalized a venue after his joke about Eknath Shinde, followed by BMC demolition) and Kangana Ranaut’s 2020 case (BMC demolished her home after criticizing the govt) share similarities.”

Reacting to Hansal Mehta's post, Kangana Ranaut said, “They called me names like haramkhor, threatened me, served notice late in the night to my watchman and next morning before courts could open, bulldozers demolished the entire house. The high court called the demolition completely illegal.”

“They laughed at it and raised a toast to my pain and public humiliation. It seems your insecurity and mediocrity has not only made you bitter and stupid but it had blinded you as well, it’s not some third class series or atrocious films that you make, don’t try to sell your dumb lies and agendas here in the matters related to my ordeals, stay out of it,” the BJP MP said.

Hansak Mehta had a three-word reply to Kangana's post: “Get well soon.”