Vikram Bhatt, already in jail for fraud case, faces ‘1920’ non-payment allegations: ‘No hope now'

The legal troubles for filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari Bhatt continue to deepen. Already behind bars in a Rs 30 crore cheating and criminal breach of trust case, the couple is now facing fresh allegations from the cast and crew of Bhatt’s 2023 horror film, 1920: Horrors of the Heart.

Parag Chadha, the film’s casting director, has publicly accused Bhatt of withholding his entire payment. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter India, Parag revealed that he had held back from raising the issue for three years, fearing damage to his career. “I have email confirmations acknowledging my dues. Yet no payment was ever made,” he said. “I’ve written this off as bad debt. Speaking out isn’t about recovering it—it’s about exposing the problem.”

Parag also revealed that several actors, some earning as little as Rs 6,000 per day, remain unpaid or partially paid, highlighting a broader pattern of non-payment across the production.

Vishwas Kulkarni, father of actress Ketaki Kulkarni, claims his daughter was only partially paid for her 26-day stint on the film. “She was promised Rs 2.6 lakh, but received just Rs 1.5 lakh,” he said. Despite repeated assurances from the production, the remaining Rs 1.1 lakh never arrived. Vishwas added that the film performed well commercially, earning around Rs 17–18 crore at the box office before its OTT release, yet pending payments were not cleared. “This wasn’t about lack of revenue—the money was there. The failure to pay is distressing, especially since this was her first project at just 16–17 years old,” he said.

Vishwas also admitted avoiding formal complaints with the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) to protect his daughter from potential blacklisting, reflecting the fear many young actors feel when confronting powerful filmmakers.

Crew members left in limbo

Crew members say months of work, including vendor payments, remain unpaid. One explained that despite promises the dues would be settled after the OTT release, cash flow issues left them without payment, forcing financial stress during Deepavali and leaving them feeling hopeless.