Jai Mehta: ‘I have never called him Dad, I call him Hansal Sir’

‘I have two sisters. One is 13 and the other is 17.’

‘For them, their father is the director of Shahid, Omerta, Simran, Scam 1992 and Scoop.’

‘For me, my father is the director of Jayate, Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar, Chhal, Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai, three unreleased films and Woodstock Villa.’

‘No one has seen these films.’

IMAGE: Jai Mehta with his father Hansal Mehta on the sets of Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story. Photograph: Kind courtesy Hansal Mehta/Instagram

Jai Mehta started assisting his father Hansal Mehta more than a decade ago.

Over the years of working together, they churned out memorable titles, which ultimately paved way for Jai to showcase his directorial flair in his debut Web series, Lootere.

While their creative partnership is an extension of their personal bond, Jai says his relationship with his father is otherwise “very different”.

“We don’t have dinner table conversations because we don’t live together. I was mostly raised by my grandparents, as he was struggling in the film industry,” Jai tells Mayur Sanap/Rediff.com in the concluding part of the interview.

There was a fair share of struggles that Hansal Mehta went through in his own career. But was him being a director make it easier for you?

Look, my father wasn’t a big director.

He is a first generation film-maker, who came from a simple, middle-class family.

I have two sisters. One is 13 and the other is 17.

For them, their father is the director of Shahid, Omerta, Simran, Scam 1992 and Scoop.

For me, my father is the director of Jayate, Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar, Chhal, Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai, three unreleased films and Woodstock Villa. No one has seen these films.

I have been working with him for a long time, so nepotism does not count for me.

I’m too filmi for an outsider and I’m too much of outsider for an insider.

The only advantage is that I have lived through enough lows to appreciate the highs.

At the end of the day, I’m just a kid who’s trying to find his own spotlight and not live in the shadow of a legacy that I did not build.

Are you apprehensive about the inevitable comparisons with your father?

No, dude. Honestly, even if 10 per cent of my work is compared to his work, I must have achieved a lot in my life.

He’s a very, very, good film-maker and everything I know I have learned from him.

I only aspire to be as good as him.

And this is not a competition.

If something I make does really well, he’s going to be happy for me.

IMAGE: Hansal Mehta cooks Nalli Nihari. Photograph: Kind courtesy Hansal Mehta/Instagram

What are your dinner table conversations with him like?

We don’t have dinner table conversations because we don’t live together.

My relationship with my father is very different.

I have never called him Dad, I call him Hansal Sir.

He had me when he was very young. I was mostly raised by my grandparents, as my father was struggling in the film industry.

We got to know each other better when I started working with him. I must have been 17 then. That is when our relationship actually began. I’ve been working with him for 12 to 13 years now.

He is a really fun guy.

I am actually a very serious person in comparison with him.

When I got into the film industry, everyone has seen me as a child. The constant problem I have faced is of being infantilised. They call me ‘beta‘ even today.

My conditioning has been such that I have always pretended to be slightly older than I really am.

It is something the film industry tends to do too. You tend to be a version of yourself just to protect the real self within you.

What is your father like on the set?

My equation with him on set is very, very, professional.

Our sets are always great fun. Our main agenda is to finish shooting early so we can all go out and have dinner together.

We reach the set in the morning and the first we ask what is for breakfast.

He loves food, and so do I.

All the men in my family cook, none of the women in my family know how to cook.

IMAGE: Jai Mehta with his brother Pallava. Photograph: Kind courtesy Jai Mehta/Instagram

Does your younger brother Pallava like to watch cinema? What are his interests?

My younger brother has Down’s Syndrome.

He is around 28 years old now, but is like a five year old, mentally.

All he does is watch movies all day.

If he was a normal kid, I am pretty sure we would have been working together in the movies.

What does he think of Hansal sir’s and your work? Is he critical that way?

My brother, unfortunately, does not talk that much.

He used to be very talkative as a kid but with age, he has become quieter.

He enjoys the big heroes, and likes Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. He doesn’t know anyone else.

No one else matters.

IMAGE: A younger Hansal Mehta with his children. Photograph: Kind courtesy Jai Mehta/Instagram

How is your equation with your sisters?

It’s beautiful. My younger sister and I almost have the same age difference as my father and I. She is 19 years younger than me.

So I am almost like a father (to her).

What do they think about your work?

Unfortunately, the problem is that we have only made adult films till now.

They are yet to reach 18, so they can watch them only then.

They tried watching Scam 1992, but did not understand it.

The only film they watched was Simran and they did not like it. (Laughs)

Oh, why is that?

Well, even we did not like it.

Sure, there were a lot of good things in it. But as people who have been through the process of the script and everything, unfortunately, what we had on paper is something we were not able to bring out on screen.

We wasted such a good script.