Hansal Mehta opens up on thoughts of self-harm in the past, after Nitin Desai’s death: ‘Fought the impulse to do something…’

Commenting on Desai’s tragic death, Mehta said financial pressures in an industry run on emotions can be “debilitating”.

“I have faced many a crisis, particularly after Omerta and Simran. The failure of the film and the cycle of debt I got into led me toward a very dark place. The involvement of ‘powerful’ mediators or shall I say coercive forces made things even worse. It was a scary time. I fought the impulse very often in the not-so-distant past to do something harmful to myself,” the director posted on Twitter, now branded X.

Check out Hansal Mehta’s tweet:

Financial pressures in an industry run on emotions can be debilitating. I have faced many a crisis particularly after Omertà and Simran. The failure of the film and the cycle of debt I got into had led me towards a very dark place. The involvement of ‘powerful’ mediators or shall…

— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) August 2, 2023

The Scoop director said he could emerge out of that phase mostly because of the comfort he received from his family and “some true friends” who he could talk to.

“But in times that I was alone it always felt like a deep, dark, and endless tunnel. I wouldn’t have original ideas to share, I wouldn’t have any creative thoughts and I often succumbed to considering myself much inferior to many around me – both as an artist and as a human being,” he recalled.

“Somehow the faith that this darkness would end and even more by seeking professional help and of course being blessed enough to be immersing myself in work I’ve managed to emerge out of that awful phase. The great Nitin Desai’s tragic passing away and talks of his troubles got me revisiting that time. Am terribly sad at the loss of a remarkable artist. Om Shanti,” the filmmaker wrote.