'What Happened With Kunal Kamra Is Not New To Maharashtra'

'Twenty-five years ago, loyalists of the same (then undivided) political party stormed into my office.'
'They vandalised it, physically assaulted me, blackened my face, and forced me to apologise publicly -- by falling at the feet of an elderly woman -- for a single line of dialogue in my film.'

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta has voiced his support for stand-up artiste Kunal Kamra amid the controversy that erupted after the latter allegedly passed disparaging remarks against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in his latest standup act.

The director, who is known for films like Shahid, Citylights and the series Scam 1992, strongly condemned the vandalisation of the venue in Mumbai where Kamra had performed his show.

Hansal recalled a similar experience he faced 25 years ago when some people from the Shiv Sena vandalised his office and forcefully made him apologise to an older woman for a single line of dialogue in his film.

In a social media post on Instagram, Mehta wrote:

'What happened with Kamra is, sadly, not new to Maharashtra. I've lived through it myself. Twenty-five years ago, loyalists of the same (then undivided) political party stormed into my office. They vandalised it, physically assaulted me, blackened my face, and forced me to apologise publicly -- by falling at the feet of an elderly woman -- for a single line of dialogue in my film.'

Hansal was referring to the Manoj Bajpayee-Tabu 2000 starrer Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar.

Here's Hansal speaking about Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar in a 2000 interview with Rediff.

At least '20 political figures arrived at full strength', Hansal recalled, at the venue to shame him publicly while members from the Mumbai police watched the incident without taking any action.

'The line was harmless, almost trivial. The film had already been cleared by the Censor Board with 27 other cuts. But that didn't matter. At the so-called 'apology' venue, at least 20 political figures arrived in full strength to oversee what can only be described as a public shaming with 10,000 onlookers and the Mumbai police watching in silence.'

The filmmaker reflected on the past incident and condemned 'violence, intimidation and humiliation' for an expression of disagreement.

'That incident didn't just bruise my body. It bruised my spirit. It blunted my filmmaking, muted my courage, and silenced parts of me that took years to reclaim.

'No matter how deep the disagreement, no matter how sharp the provocation, violence, intimidation, and humiliation can never be justified.

'We owe ourselves, and each other, better. We owe ourselves dialogue, dissent, and dignity.'