Hansal made his debut with Jayate (Victory, 1998), a languid tale on the Indian judiciary, medical malpractice and ordinary human lives in the city of Bombay. This was followed by the dark, tragic and funny Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar (Don’t Take It To Heart, 2000), a film that reflected Hansal’s concern for the increasingly marginalized immigrants in the city of Bombay. This film (and Hansal) ran into trouble with intolerant political parties in Bombay because of an innocuous section of dialog. While it was not a huge commercial success it met with equal amounts of appreciation and flak for its unconventional story about betrayal and innocence. In 2003 the film was discovered in a glowing DVD review on Site and Sound magazine – a larger version of this review eventually found its way into an independent list of 46 underrated works of world cinema (Gentleman Magazine, India). Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar was followed by a breezy gangster film called Chhal (Deceit, 2001) which for reasons unknown to Hansal has been regarded as a cult film and has met with more praise than his previous film (his personal favorite). Hansal’s early films reflected various subcultures that inhabit the culturally complex city of Bombay (now Mumbai). With many exciting new talents being showcased (notable ones being Anurag Kashyap, KK Menon, Aditya Srivastav and many new actors/writers/cinematographers/sound designers) these films spawned the early days of independent cinema trying to find its bearings in Bollywood.
After these films Hansal made unsuccessful attempts at films that pandered to the mainstream sensibility while continuing to work with newer talents. Among these were the comedy Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai (What’s Happening, 2002), a gangster drama Raakh (Ashes, 2005), a short film in Dus Kahaniyaan (Ten Stories, 2007) and Woodstock Villa (2008). Disappointed with his output and his attempts to make films that did not reflect his independent sensibilities, Hansal went on an extended sabbatical to explore social work, rural life and new stories. Shahid (2012) is the result of this soul searching mission and a return to roots for Hansal. Shahid is a deeply personal story that reflects Hansal’s anger and concern towards religious/class based/racial intolerance around the world. He calls it “an attempt to exorcise the demons of 2000 when I was attacked by intolerant political parties and was forced to remain silent out of fear for my life”.
Hansal has also dabbled in television with India’s longest running food show, Khana Khazana and many other television series that were considered too art-house for the mainstream Indian television industry. In his spare time Hansal experiments with Indian cuisine and his home is regularly frequented by unsuspecting friends who are subjected to his culinary digressions. He also loves ranting through blogs and amateurish free-verse poetry on his website that is humbly called www.hansalmehta.com. The humble website also lists out some of Hansal’s more successful Indian recipes.