Premium

Vikram Bhatt faces fresh allegations as he remains in jail, casting director alleges he hasn’t paid 1920 cast, crew

A new allegation has been put against filmmaker Vikram Bhatt. His 2023 film 1920's casting director Parag Chadha claimed that he still hasn't cleared the dues of the cast and crew of the film.

3 min readNew DelhiFeb 5, 2026 11:17 AM IST

Vikram Bhatt faces allegations of not clearing dues of 1920 cast and crew

Vikram Bhatt and his wife, Shwetambari Bhatt are still behind bars in a Rs 30 crore cheating and criminal breach of trust case. In fact, the Rajasthan High Court recently refused to grant them bail again to continue the investigation. Now, the casting director of his 2023 film 1920: Horrors of the Heart, Parag Chadha, has put fresh allegations against him. In his latest social media post, he claimed that Vikram has still not cleared the dues of the cast and crew of the film.

Taking to his Instagram handle, the well-known casting director, who has helped with the casting in films like Ek Tha Tiger, Band Baaja Baaraat and Rabba Main Kya Karoon, shared a carousel with a strong note against Vikram Bhatt, along with their chat screenshots. He explicitly named Vikram Bhatt, director Krishna Bhatt, and the production house of Avika Gor’s horror drama in his post.

ALSO READ | ‘Mahesh Bhatt is my god, thought only death could separate us’: Mukesh Bhatt on split with elder brother, calls Vikram Bhatt ‘chichora’

Chadha alleged that he had been asking for the payments for years now and has never received any response from the team. “The film was released in June 2023, and we were assured that our casting fees would be paid after the release. We remained patient, trusting fully in stature of the filmmakers we were working with,” a part of his post read.

View this post on Instagram

After the film earned over Rs 20 crore, marked as a box office success, the casting director, along with the actors, were assured about their dues being cleared soon. “In February 2026, our entire payment still remains unsettled, the only response over the last few years has been “we don’t have funds”. Multiple cast and crew from the film remain UNPAID,” the note added. He also attached a few chat screenshots of him asking for his payment from Vikram Bhatt’s team.

Vikram Bhatt in custody

In December 2025, filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari Bhatt were arrested by the Rajasthan Police from Mumbai and brought to Udaipur. They have been in judicial custody since then. They were put behind bars after a complaint filed against them by Ajay Murdia, the founder of Indira IVF and Fertility Centre and a resident of Udaipur. In the case, Murdia accused Bhatt, his wife, and others of cheating him of Rs 30 crore, which were taken under the pretext of film production.

Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.