The trio of Hansal Mehta, Anurag Kashyap, and Manoj Bajpayee share a long, storied bond that dates way back. In a recent interview, Hansal dropped a gem of a story — how their creative bromance actually began.
It was 1996, pre-Satya era. Hansal was brainstorming a film idea at Manoj’s apartment after being asked by producer RV Pandit to develop a story. As Hansal recalls, they were deep in discussion when things took a sleepy turn. “We were discussing ideas. Baat karte karte woh so gaya. Darwaza knock kiya kisi ne. Ek aadmi aaya… maine bola Manoj bhaiya so rahe hai… wo bolta main aapse milna chahta tha… Highway dekhi thi, paagal ho gaya, bada fan hu… aapko dhund raha hu kabse (Someone knocked on the door, I told the man Manoj was asleep. He said he wants to meet me and was a huge fan of my Highway. He said he has been looking for me).”
He went ahead to tell Hansal that he’s an actor and also a writer. That last bit caught Hansal’s attention. Curious, he asked the guy if he could help put his film idea onto paper. Without missing a beat, the guy said, “Sir main likh lunga, mujhe Rs 15,000 chahiye, mera three months ka rent hai (He said he can write but needs Rs 15000 as he has to pay three-months rent).” Hansal narrated the idea and boom! 48 hours later, a complete screenplay landed on his table. “Usne 48 hours mein mujhe screenplay de diya kyuki usko paise chahiye the (He gave me the screenplay in 48 hours as he needed the money).”
That man? He was none other than Anurag Kashyap. He got paid Rs 75,000 for that 350-page script, which eventually became the film Jayate.
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Hansal’s nostalgia trip didn’t end there. He also spoke about what happened post-Jayate, when he began work on Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar!! with actor Saurabh Shukla handling the writing duties. One night, slightly tipsy and sitting with Manoj, Hansal casually cast him in the film — on a one-rupee signing amount. “Tab tak Satya aayi nahi thi… And Manoj ko maine 1 rupee signing diya tha uss film ke liye..” remembers Hansal with a chuckle.
However, Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar!! didn’t quite hit the mark. It flopped both critically and commercially, leading to a fallout between Hansal and Manoj. The two didn’t speak for six years.
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But as with all great friendships, the story didn’t end there. Time healed wounds, and the duo reunited to create an acclaimed gem like Aligarh.
