New Delhi: At the moment, Richie Mehta is basking in the glory coming his way, after scooping up the first ‘International Emmy’ for India. It was his six-episode web series, Delhi Crime that helped India win its first Emmy. The win is all the more special for the Canadian filmmaker of Indian origin because the series marked his debut on the digital platform. Richie Mehta has tried his hand at short and feature filmmaking, as well as the documentary format. He said the win comes in sync with his plan to narrate stories that have a global outlook.
Mehta’s first feature film Amal released in 2007. Set in modern day New Delhi, the film narrates the story of a poor auto-rickshaw driver named Amal Kumar. The film stars Naseeruddin Shah, Roshan Seth, and Seema Biswas. It won over 30 international awards, and was nominated for six ‘Genie Awards’ including Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay. It was also named one of the top 10 Canadian films of the decade by ‘Playback Magazine’.
Mehta next explored the sci-fi genre with his 2013 release, I’ll Follow You Down, starring The Crown actress Gillian Anderson. He then directed Siddharth, which was shortlisted at the ‘Golden Globes’ in the ‘Best Foreign Language’ category. He also directed a crowd-sourced documentary, India In A Day, whose co-producers included Ridley Scott.
For Delhi Crime, Mehta started research on the case in 2012, when the tragic crime took place, digging deep into police files. The series is based on the heinous 2012 Delhi bus gang-rape and follows police investigation. The cast includes Adil Hussain, Denzil Smith, Rasika Dugal, Rajesh Tailang and Yashaswini Dayama.
“I never anticipated getting here. It is the culmination of years of work by hundreds of people, sometimes in total isolation and defiance. Delhi Crime is a complete labour of love, born out of sadness, anger, frustration and, ultimately, compassion. The entire team from start to finish should take a bow for giving their all to this vision,” Mehta said after the win.
If his works reflect a global outlook, Mehta said it is an outcome of the fact that he ‘grew grew up in Canada’ and keeps ‘working in India’. “I suppose I have always had a more global outlook, and avoid looking at this geographic industry versus that one,” he said.
