Filmmaker Hansal Mehta, who worked with Manoj Bajpayee first in the 2000 film Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar, said that the duo had a major falling out during the film’s shoot. The filmmaker said that they did not speak to each other for six years and would turn the other way when their paths crossed.
In an interview with Huffpost India, Mehta emphasised on the importance of not burning bridges with people and leaving room for reconciliation. Talking about their bond, he said that before their fight they were best friends but were really bitter after. They only had to professionally interact when they came together for Sanjay Gupta’s Dus Kahaaniya. After the shoot they went out for drinks and happened to sit next to each other. They gradually reconciled after that.
Talking to the publication about the reason, Mehta said, “I don’t even remember but it was a misunderstanding. He was in the US, and he called up and started screaming at me over something. I screamed back and I banged the phone down. After that we never spoke. But we wasted a lot of years. Ultimately what happened, we made Aligarh together. If we had stopped talking, how would Aligarh come about? Without Manoj, what even is Aligarh? You can’t close those doors.”
Mehta’s last release, the web-series Scam 1992 starring Pratik Gandhi has received a lot of critical acclaim. The show is based on the real-life story of Harshad Mehta. His upcoming film Chhalang, starring Rajkummar Rao and Nushrat Bharucha will release on Amazon Prime.
