Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari Bhatt are in judicial custody in connection with a Rs 30 crore cheating and criminal breach of trust case. Their plea for bail has also been declined by the Rajasthan High Court recently, thus allowing the investigation to proceed further. Amid this, fresh allegations have now surfaced against Bhatt from Parag Chadha, the casting director of his 2023 film ‘1920: Horrors of the Heart’.Taking to Instagram, Chadha shared a carousel post accompanied by a strongly worded note and screenshots of alleged conversations, accusing Vikram Bhatt of failing to clear the dues of the film’s cast and crew. In his post, he directly named Vikram Bhatt, director Krishna Bhatt and the production house behind Avika Gor’s horror drama.
The casting director, who has previously worked on films like ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ and ‘Rabba Main Kya Karoon’, claimed that he has been chasing payments for years without receiving any response. “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 note read.Chadha further alleged that despite the film earning over Rs 20 crore at the box office and being declared a success, the promised payments were never made. “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 post added. He also attached screenshots showing repeated follow-ups with Bhatt’s team regarding the pending dues.Vikram Bhatt and Shwetambari Bhatt were arrested by the Rajasthan Police in December 2025 from Mumbai and brought to Udaipur. They have remained in judicial custody since then following a complaint filed by Ajay Murdia, founder of Indira IVF and Fertility Centre. Murdia accused Bhatt, his wife and others of cheating him of Rs 30 crore, allegedly taken under the guise of film production.
