Anil Mehta is an Indian cinematographer, film director, and writer known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is recognized as one of the founding members of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC). Mehta studied cinematography at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune in 1986.

His career began with his collaboration with filmmaker Ketan Mehta on movies like “Holi” (1984) and “Mirch Masala” (1987) while he was still a student. He later worked as an assistant to Barun Mukherjee on television commercials.

Mehta made his debut as a cinematographer with the short Indo-German drama film called “The Cloud Door” (1984). His first full-length film was “Khamoshi: The Musical” (1996), which marked the directorial debut of Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

In 1999, Mehta received the National Film Award for Best Cinematography for his work in “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” (1999). He also worked on the critically acclaimed and commercially successful film “Lagaan” (2001), which was one of the most expensive Indian films at that time.

During the early 2000s and onwards, Mehta worked on several notable films such as “Kal Ho Naa Ho” (2003), “Veer-Zaara” (2004), “Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna” (2006), and “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” (2016).

In addition to his cinematography work, Mehta ventured into film direction with his first feature film, “Aaja Nachle” (2007), produced by Yash Raj Films. The film marked the comeback of actress Madhuri Dixit and also starred Konkona Sen Sharma, Akshaye Khanna, and Kunal Kapoor.