 In 2008 after the release of "Woodstock Villa" he went on an extended sabbatical to explore life as a foodie, entrepreneur and to explore themes that mattered to him.Mehta truly came into the lime-light with his film Shahid (2013) starring Rajkummar Rao.Shahid had its world premier at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival following which it had an extended run at various international film festivals around the world.