Anil Mehta

For the Indian politician, see Anil Mehta (politician). For the Marathi publisher, see Mehta Publishing House.

Anil Mehta
Born	India
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	FTII
Occupation(s)	Cinematographer, Director, Writer
Known for	Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) Lagaan (2001) Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) Veer-Zaara (2004) Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016)

Anil Mehta is an Indian cinematographer, film director and writer who predominantly works in Hindi cinema. He is one of the founding members of Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC).[1][2]

Early life and education

Anil studied cinematography at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune in 1986.[3]

Career

Anil initially worked with Ketan Mehta on Holi (1984) and Mirch Masala (1987) while he was a student and went on to assist Barun Mukherjee on television commercials.[4]

He debuted as a cinematographer on a short Indo-German drama film, The Cloud Door (1984). His first full-length film was Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), which was also Sanjay Leela Bhansali's directorial debut.[4]

In 1999, he won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography for his work in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and later worked in Lagaan (2001), which was one of the most expensive Indian films at that time.[5]

Early 2000s and present

He also worked on Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), Wake Up Sid (2009), Rockstar (2011), Cocktail (2012), Highway (2014) and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016).[3]

Mehta's first feature film, Aaja Nachle, was produced by Yash Raj Films which released on 30 November 2007.[6] the film stars Madhuri Dixit (her comeback film), Konkona Sen Sharma, Akshaye Khanna and Kunal Kapoor.[7]

Filmography

Year	Film	Language	Notes
1994	The Cloud Door	Hindi	Short film
1996	Khamoshi: The Musical
1999	Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2001	Lagaan
2002	Agni Varsha
	Saathiya
2003	Kal Ho Naa Ho
2004	Veer-Zaara		[8]
2006	Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
2007	Marigold
2009	Wake Up Sid
2011	Rockstar
2012	Cocktail
	Jab Tak Hai Jaan
2014	Highway
	Finding Fanny	Hindi English
2015	Badlapur	Hindi
	Shaandaar
2016	Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
2017	Secret Superstar
2018	Beyond the Clouds
	Sui Dhaaga		[9]
2020	Angrezi Medium
2021	Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar
2022	Jersey
	Darlings
2023	Thank You for Coming

Writer

• Agni Varsha (2002)

Director

• Aaja Nachle (2007)
• FeeliN (2011)

References

1. "Cinematography is a skill, but is still underrated: Anil Mehta". The Hindu. 31 January 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
2. "Hindi cinema cinematographer, through the lens". The Hindu. 1 February 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
3. Ramnath, Nandini. "Anil Mehta on lensing 'Beyond the Clouds': 'Bombay still throws up surprises, one never tires of it'". Scroll.in. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
4. Pandya, Sonal. "The team behind Khamoshi recalls how Sanjay Bhansali's first film got made". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
5. "Hot 100 -2018, Cinematographers, Anil Mehta". Digital Studio. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
6. "yashrajfilms.com". Yash Raj's stellar line-up. Retrieved 23 July 2006.
7. "entertainment.oneindia.in". Madhuri Dixit on Aaja Nachle. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2006.
8. "16 Years Of Veer-Zaara: Cinematographer Anil Mehta Calls The Film A 'Fantastic Tribute From A Son To A Father'". Desimartini. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
9. "Decoding a scene | Anil Mehta's take on the crucial 'stitch' in 'Sui Dhaaga'". OnManorama. Retrieved 9 February 2023.

External links

• Anil Mehta at IMDb
• Interview by Rediff