Hansal Mehta’s prolific career in Indian entertainment has equipped him with an exceptional eye for talent. Through acclaimed works like Shahid, Aligarh, Scam 1992, and The Buckingham Murders, he has collaborated with top performers and understands the importance of nurturing talent. He recently curated exclusive lists on IMDb featuring his favourite male and female actors, showcasing India's most memorable contemporary and yesteryear performers who have shaped and transformed his perception of Indian cinema.

Hansal Mehta’s Favourite Female Indian Actors (Listed Alphabetically)
He writes, “Icons, rebels, muses—these women have often defined and redefined the Indian cinema experience for me. A list written in admiration, and sometimes, awe.”

Alia Bhatt
Amruta Subhash
Deepika Padukone
Dimple Kapadia
Kareena Kapoor
Konkona Sen Sharma
Madhuri Dixit
Manju Warrier
Nargis
Nimisha Sajayan

Hansal Mehta’s Favourite Male Indian Actors (Listed Alphabetically)

He writes, “A personal curation of India’s most unforgettable male performers—artists who leave behind echoes long after the final fade out.”

Aamir Khan
Adarsh Gourav
Amitabh Bachchan
Amol Palekar
Anant Nag
Balraj Sahni
Dilip Kumar
Fahadh Faasil
Gagandev Riar
Govinda
IMDb lists are an efficient way to share movie, TV and celebrity picks with other IMDb users, keep a record of what one is watching, or discover what to watch. They are a powerful tool for sharing recommendations, whether from industry experts or passionate fans. The lists feature allows for continuous updates, enabling customers to add new names and titles as they discover fresh content. Through this feature, millions of entertainment fans discover new content daily.

Hansal’s lists come on the heels of his March post on X, where he cautioned people against predicting doom for Bollywood. “The industry isn’t dying. It’s waiting to be disrupted. The problem isn’t the audience losing interest. It’s that investment is being funneled into the safe, the recycled, the formulaic. The future of Hindi cinema lies in betting on raw talent, bold storytelling, and directors who can take a script and direct the hell out of it,” he wrote.

Subsequently, he shared a list of promising, emerging male actors whose talent he has great faith in. He has now expanded this into a comprehensive list of Breakout Male Talent in India on IMDb, featuring IMDb “Breakout Star” STARmeter Award winners Adarsh Gourav and Zahan Kapoor.