'A YEAR OF MEMORABLE PERFORMANCES'

'Suvinder Vicky in Kohrra! 'Manoj Bajpayee in Joram! 'Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub in Joram and Scoop! 'Gagan Dev Riar in Scam 2003! 'Sukant Goel in Kaala Paani.

It’s been a wonderful year for Hansal Mehta.

Riding high for two shows and two films this year, he once again affirms his position as a star film-maker.

Mehta was especially lauded for apt casting in his projects that featured many lesser-known names.

“You take up the challenge and then see it all coming through. All that was challenging, but very, very, gratifying,”

How do you look back at 2023?

The year began with Faraaz, then Scoop came out, then Scam 2003. And then, the premiere of The Buckingham Murders. It’s been quite a year.

What was the most gratifying aspect of your creative journey this year?

The most gratifying part is that your work is out there for the world to see. And it has happened quite successfully this year.

Both Scoop and Scam 2003 did very well on their respective streaming platforms.

Scoop won so many awards.

When Faraaz came on Netflix, it was in the top 10 worldwide for two weeks. It was a non-original Netflix film, starring new people, and yet, it got so much love.

The same with Scoop. It was an unexpected cast of Karishma Tanna, Harman Baweja, Deven Bhojani and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub.

In Scam 2003, it was the breakout performance of Gagan Dev Riar.

And then there’s Kareena Kapoor in a completely new avatar in The Buckingham Murders.

You take up the challenge and then see it all coming through. It was challenging but very, very gratifying.

In the industry that’s so star-obsessed, you have always been gutsy with your casting choices. What’s your thought process behind this? How easy or difficult is it to convince the studio to back these choices?