Hansal Mehta clarifies 'nepotistic academy' remark after Oscar invites Alia & Hrithik

Actor Alia Bhatt, Hrithik Roshan, and many more received invitations to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). In a statement on Tuesday, the Academy said the new invitees include 36 per cent of people of colour and 45 per cent women. Artistes from 68 countries have been invited as members and those who accept the invitation will have voting rights at the 93rd Academy Awards, scheduled to be held on April 25, 2021.

Reacting to this 'sarcastically', director Hansal Mehta in response to one of the users wrote, 'Nepotistic Academy' which was later reported saying he 'slammed' the Academy's decision. 'Omerta' director later clarified that he wrote that in 'sarcasm'. He wrote, "I used the words 'nepotistic academy' in sarcasm. The word nepotism has been misused to settle personal scores and to discredit so many talents. Nepotism exists but to link it to every inequality is a reductive and lazy way to look at power dynamics." [sic]

Hansal Mehta slams Netflix for disrespecting content-makers, calls out credit skip feature

The death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput has sparked a huge debate about how outsiders find Bollywood a difficult place to survive whereas insiders and star children flourish. Director Hansal Mehta spoke about the debate and gave an example of his son who 'got a step in the door' because of him was trolled on Twitter.

Clarifying his stance, Mehta on Wednesday wrote a message for all the trolls on his handle and said that he has come up the 'hard way' and his son doesn't depend on him instead he depends on him. Mehta further wrote, 'Like I depend on Rajkummar Rao', or the other artists who began their careers with Mehta. He wrote, "I take pride in their success. I love them. Like I love my kids. Like I love my friends." [sic]

A user wrote, "We protest against your son getting the first step first break so easily. Well begun is half done," and to this, Mehta wrote, "Go ahead. It's your right." [sic]

Hansal Mehta ponders on 'colour bias' in cameras, cites struggle for 'international look'