Filmmaker Hansal Mehta and actor-MP Kangana Ranaut clashed online today over the crackdown against stand-up comic Kunal Kamra for his jokes targeting Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde. The online spat between Mr Mehta and Ms Ranaut, who had collaborated in 2017 for Simran, comes against a massive debate over the vandalism at a Mumbai studio to protest Kunal Kamra’s jokes targeting Mr Shinde, now the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister. As cases are filed and the civic body cracks down on the studio, citing building law violations, many have drawn parallels with the action against Ms Ranaut during the Uddhav Thackeray regime in 2020.
Mr Mehta had flagged an abusive post targeting Kunal Kamra. In response, an X user questioned why the filmmaker had not spoken out against the demolition on Ms Ranaut’s premises in 2020.
They called me names like haramkhor, threatened me, served a notice late in the night to my watchman and next morning before courts could open bulldozers demolished the entire house. High court called the demolition completely illegal.
They laughed at it and raised a toast to… https://t.co/eUF54JQqOp— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) March 25, 2025
Mr Mehta replied, “Was her 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.”
Shortly after, Ms Ranaut responded to Mr Mehta, detailing her ordeal. “They called me names like haramkhor, threatened me, served a notice late in the night to my watchman and next morning before courts could open bulldozers demolished the entire house. High court called the demolition completely illegal. They laughed at it and raised a toast to my pain and public humiliation,” she wrote.
The actor then launched a personal attack, describing Mr Mehta’s work “third class”. “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,” she said. The filmmaker, whose work include critically acclaimed films Shahid and Aligarh, and popular web series Scam 1992, had a brief response: “Get well soon.”
In a post yesterday, Mr Mehta said what happened with Kunal Kamra “is not new to Maharashtra” and that he has faced it too. “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,” he said. “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. 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,” he added.
“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,” Mr Mehta posted.
In September 2020, a part of Kangana Ranaut’s Mumbai office was demolished by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, citing encroachment. The timing of the action raised questions. At the time, the Uddhav Thackeray government was in power in Maharashtra and also controlled the civic body. The action against Kangana followed a bitter spat between her and Shiv Sena leaders in the aftermath of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s shocking death. The actor moved court against the demolition and scored a big win there. The Bombay High Court paused the demolition exercise and questioned the motives behind the BMC’s action.
Earlier today, Ms Ranaut slammed Kunal Kamra’s jokes targeting Mr Shinde and said it was not okay to disrespect someone for his humble background. The actor said the 2020 move against her was “illegal”, but the action against the comic now is “legal”.
