Vikram Bhatt recalls health scare in prison: 'I don't want to die here, my wife needs me'

Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt opened up about an unsettling chapter from his recent past. Bhatt and his wife, Shwetambari Bhatt, were arrested in December last year in connection with an alleged Rs 30 crore cheating case linked to a businessman from Udaipur. After spending weeks in custody, the couple was granted bail by the Supreme Court in February this year. Now, months later, Bhatt has shared a personal account of a health crisis he says went largely ignored during his time behind bars.

Taking to social media, Bhatt revisited a particularly harsh winter night at Udaipur Central Jail, when he says his condition suddenly deteriorated.

“It must have been three or four weeks since my incarceration in Udaipur Jail. It was the middle of January and the cold was biting in a way only those who have spent a winter night in prison can truly understand. I remember one particular night in Barrack Number 10. There are no clocks in prison, so I do not know what time it was. But I remember waking up suddenly, shivering uncontrollably. My body felt as though it was on fire. It was obvious that I had a fever, though there was no way to measure it.”

According to Bhatt, the situation quickly became alarming. Fellow inmates tried to help, layering him with blankets as his condition worsened.

“Even with two blankets wrapped tightly around me, I was shaking as if I had no clothes on at all. The men who slept on either side of me, woke up when they saw me trembling. Without saying much, they found two more blankets from somewhere and laid them over me. Even under four blankets, my body kept shaking. I swallowed a paracetamol tablet and hoped it was something that would pass,” he added.

By morning, Bhatt said his fever had worsened. He was taken to the prison hospital, where initial checks were conducted. Although a doctor later recommended that he be shifted to a hospital, Bhatt said the transfer was delayed, and he spent the following days continuing to deal with fever and discomfort.

With no immediate treatment, Bhatt described turning inward, making small changes to cope and relying on faith, as 'he didn't want to die here'. "My children need me. My wife needs me. My 90-year-old father needs me’. Every day I prayed. And slowly… something changed,” he wrote.

He added that even his lawyer feared the worst at one point. But over time, the fever subsided and the pain eased.

Why Bhatt was in jail

Bhatt and his wife were arrested by Rajasthan Police from Mumbai in December in connection with an alleged Rs 30 crore fraud case filed by Udaipur-based businessman Dr Ajay Mudiya of the Indira Group of Companies. The complaint accused Bhatt and several others of cheating.

Following their arrest, authorities sought transit remand to move Bhatt to Udaipur for investigation. The couple was later granted bail by the Supreme Court in February.