4 minutes of readingChennaiFebruary 10, 2026 3:16 PM IST
As filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari Bhatt continue remain behind bars in Rs 30 crore criminal fraud and breach of trust caseanother case against them has recently come to light. Parag Chadha, casting director of Vikram Bhatt’s 2023 film, 1920: Horrors of the Heart, has accused the filmmaker of non-payment of fees. After Parag went public with the allegation, several actors and crew members associated with the film also alleged non-payment of their dues.
‘100% of my fees are pending’
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter India, Parag accused Vikram Bhatt of not paying 100% of his fees. He shared that he was eager to raise the issue publicly for the past three years to avoid affecting his livelihood and future work. Parag said that even though the manufacturers acknowledged the payment they were owed, the amount was never settled. “I have email confirmations acknowledging my dues. Despite that, no payment was made. I have written off this money as bad debt. Speaking up is not about getting it back, it is about raising awareness,” the casting director said.
Parag also noted that he was contacted by several actors, some of whom were earning as little as Rs 6,000 a day, who have not received their full dues and are still waiting to be paid, either partially or fully. For the unversed, 1920: Horrors of the Heart was directed by Vikram’s daughter from his first marriage, Krishna Bhatt. The film is co-produced by Vikram and stars Avika Gor and Rahul Dev in the lead roles.
‘Payment should have been made after OTT launch’
Vishwas Kulkarni, father of actor Ketaki Kulkarni, also accused the makers of paying only Rs 1.5 lakh of the Rs 2.6 lakh promised to his daughter, who worked on the film for 26 days under a contract that promised her Rs 10,000 a day. “The remaining amount was promised but never paid,” he said. Vishwas admitted that he initially received responses assuring him that the full amount would be paid, but eventually those communications also ceased.
Ketaki’s father further alleged that the film made money after its OTT release, but the pending dues were yet to be cleared. He said, “From what we understand, not many have received the full amount. This was not a case where the film did not make money. It collected Rs 17-18 crore at the box office and was later released on OTT. The payments should have been settled from that.” Vishwas described the experience as “nerve-wracking” for his daughter as this was her first project and she worked on the film when she was only 16-17 years old.
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‘There is no hope’
She also shared that she avoided filing a complaint with the Film and TV Artists Association (CINTAA) to protect her daughter from being blacklisted in the industry.
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A crew member told The Hollywood Reporter India that several members of the directing and production teams have not been paid, including suppliers. However, some crew members managed to approach industry partners and eventually received their payments.
Another team member told the publication, “I worked on the project for a few months but was not paid for the last month. We were told that the payment would be cleared after the OTT launch, but then we were informed that there was no cash flow. I needed the money during Deepavali, but nothing came to me.” And he added: “There is no hope now.”