✦ Celebrity stories, facts and career updates. Explore F4U now →

Home › Biography › Hansal Mehta

Hansal Mehta biographyFeatured Biography

Image source: StarsUnfolded

Celebrities

Hansal Mehta Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 29, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth29 April 1968

Age53 Years

BirthplaceMumbai

ProfessionDirector, Producer, Writer

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpouseSafeena Husain

FamilyTwo sons (Jai, Pallava) and two daughters (Kimaya, Rihanna)

Hansal Mehta Biography

Hansal Mehta is an Indian filmmaker whose career spans television, feature films and streaming series. Known for the award-winning Shahid and the widely la

Early life and background

Hansal Mehta was born on 29 April 1968 in Mumbai, where he grew up in a Gujarati middle-class family. He completed his schooling at Rose Manor International School in Mumbai and later earned a B.Tech in Electronics from Dr. D. Y. Patil Institute of Technology, Pune. After finishing his engineering, he married young and took a job with South Pacific Recordings in Australia, where exposure to film rental and editing planted the seeds for a move into directing.

Career

Mehta returned to India in 1993 with the intention of becoming a director. His first notable television work was as director on the cooking show Khana Khazana, a project he conceived and which helped launch chef Sanjeev Kapoor into the public eye. While working in television he directed several series through the 1990s, including Amrita, Highway, Yaadein, Lakshya and Neeti.

His first independent feature as director, Jayate, was showcased in the Indian Panorama section of a festival in Hyderabad around 1999–2000, though it did not see a wide theatrical release. Mehta continued to work in cinema, directing Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar!! in 2000, a film that received critical attention but struggled commercially. Subsequent projects in the 2000s met with mixed results, and a string of setbacks culminated in a period of personal difficulty and a break from directing feature films.

Following a sabbatical and a time spent away from the industry, Mehta returned with the biographical drama Shahid (2012), based on the life of lawyer and activist Shahid Azmi. Shahid premiered internationally and earned Mehta several honors, including awards at festivals and the National Film Award for Best Direction. The film marked a clear turning point in his career and re-established him as a director with a strong social conscience.

After Shahid, Mehta collaborated repeatedly with actor Rajkummar Rao on projects including CityLights (2014), Aligarh (2015), Omerta (2017), and Chhalaang (2020). Aligarh, in particular, was recognized at international festivals and earned warm responses from critics. Mehta later achieved broad popular recognition with the 2020 streaming series Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, which became a major success on SonyLiv and brought his work to a wide television audience.

Across his career Mehta has filled roles as director, producer and writer, and he operates his own production company, Karma Pictures.

Public profile

Mehta has been open about the highs and lows of his professional life. He has spoken about the anxiety he felt around examinations as a youth and has discussed how career setbacks led to a difficult period that included struggles with alcohol. He used a break from filmmaking to live in a village and focus on simpler pursuits such as cooking and blogging, activities that helped him reassess his artistic direction.

His films have often engaged with socially sensitive subjects, and Shahid in particular drew attention for its treatment of a contentious legal and political story. Mehta has been the recipient of multiple awards for direction and social sensitivity in film, reflecting industry recognition for his work.

Personal life

Mehta has been married twice. He was first married to Sunita Mehta; that marriage ended in 2000. He is a father to two sons from that marriage, Jai and Pallava, the latter of whom has Down syndrome. Mehta later formed a long-term partnership with social worker Safeena Husain; the couple have two daughters together, Kimaya and Rihanna, who were born before the pair formalized their relationship. On 25 May 2022 Hansal Mehta announced that he and Safeena Husain had married.

He is based in Mumbai and maintains an interest in food, cooking and blogging. Mehta has described himself as non-vegetarian and, according to public statements, he quit smoking in 2018.

Latest updates

Mehta continues to be an active figure in Indian film and digital storytelling, with Scam 1992 marking a recent high point in audience reach and critical response. His body of work since the early 1990s spans television shows, independent films and high-profile streamed series, and he remains involved in filmmaking through his production company.
◈

Recent Work

Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story

SonyLiv web series about the life of stockbroker Harshad Mehta; released in 2020 and a major popular success.

2020
Chhalaang

Feature film directed by Mehta starring Rajkummar Rao, released in 2020.

2020
Omerta

Feature film directed by Mehta starring Rajkummar Rao, released in 2017.

2017
Aligarh

Drama directed by Mehta featuring Rajkummar Rao; screened to acclaim at international film festivals.

2015
✦

Career Highlights

  1. Directed the television cooking show Khana Khazana and helped launch chef Sanjeev Kapoor.
  2. Made an award-winning comeback with the biographical film Shahid (2012).
  3. Won the National Film Award for Best Direction for Shahid.
  4. Directed the widely successful web series Scam 1992 (2020).
  5. Frequent collaborator with actor Rajkummar Rao across multiple films.
?

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Hansal Mehta born?

29 April 1968

What is Hansal Mehta known for?

Director, Producer, Writer

What is Hansal Mehta’s marital status?

Married

Who is Hansal Mehta married to?

Safeena Husain