Hansal Mehta: 'Citylights' was about those the city forgets

Mumbai, May 30

As the film clocked 11 years in Hindi cinema on Friday, Hansal took to Instagram, where he shared a string of stills from the film, which was a remake of the BAFTA-nominated 2013 British film Metro Manila.

He wrote: “11 years ago. It began as a remake. I never watched Metro Manila, and I still haven’t. I’ve heard it’s a better film—and perhaps it is. But Citylights became ours. Ritesh Shah’s screenplay gave us a foundation, and we built our own house of truths upon it. It wasn’t perfect. But it was personal.”

He revealed that the film was shot with a crew of just 25 and in live “compartments, on bustling platforms, in the middle of a city”.

“We shot on a prayer. With barely a crew of 25—but the passion of 250. Trains weren’t just metaphors—they were locations. We filmed in live compartments, on bustling platforms, in the middle of a city that was both indifferent and intimate. (sic).”

The filmmaker added: “Every scene was a sync sound. Every frame was borrowed light. Just a few tubes, a portable generator, and a determination to tell this story. @devagarwal_dp shot the city not as a postcard, but as a wound—raw, flickering, alive. @apurva_asrani brought soul and rhythm to the edit, shaping something human out of our chaos.”

“@vinraw —my casting director, my associate, my brother on this journey—found truth in the faces that passed us by. My son @jaihmehta then my chief assistant, stood by me through every madness with grace and grit beyond his years. @mandarjkulkarni made sure not a single scene was dubbed - an absolute feat. Not to forget the blockbuster music by @jeetganngulimusic and @therashmivirag”

He said that the director’s cut was “vulnerable, unvarnished, deeply felt. But the studio didn’t release it.”

“And through it all was Bhatt Saab. Mahesh Bhatt. Not just a mentor—but a parent, a guide, a light.

We made a director’s cut—vulnerable, unvarnished, deeply felt. But the studio didn’t release it. They made us do another cut. A safer, more “palatable” version.”

“A cut born of insecurity. That version was approved. And I’ve carried the wound of that compromise ever since. And yet—what remains, endures.”

He heaped praise on the performances by the actors Rajkummar Rao, Patralekhaa and Manav Kaul.

“@rajkummar_rao in a performance I still believe is his most invisible and most powerful. @patralekhaa as Rakhi—so still, so devastating, a portrayal that haunts me even now. And @manavkaul —who didn’t just make an entrance, he announced himself with thunder,” Hansal shared.

Talking about the film, he said: “Citylights was about those the city forgets. The migrants. The invisible. The ones who build the skyline but sleep on its footpaths. Their story is still real. Still painful. Still necessary. Some films make their way into your life. Citylights never left.”

‘CityLights” was directed by Hansal Mehta. The film was presented by Fox Star Studios in association with Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt. It told the story about a poor farmer from Rajasthan coming to Mumbai in search of a livelihood.

“Citylights” followed the tale of Deepak Singh, an ex-army person from Rajasthan, who moves to Mumbai with his family hoping for a better lifestyle. However, upon arrival, he realises that everything is not as easy as it seems.

— IANS