New Delhi: Pratik Shah, the cinematographer known for his work on Homebound—a film that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival—has recently made headlines after being accused of emotional abuse by independent filmmaker Abhinav Singh.
Singh publicly called Shah “highly manipulative” and “emotionally abusive.” Following the allegations, Shah reportedly deleted his Instagram account. In light of the controversy, Dharma Productions has issued an official response.
The production house stated that no complaints were received during the shoot of Homebound from any cast or crew members. The official statement read: “At Dharma Productions, we have a zero tolerance policy against inappropriate behaviour and sexual harassment towards any individual working with us in any capacity, and we treat sexual harassment cases very seriously.”
The statement further read: ”Mr Pratik Shah was a freelancer on the project Homebound and was working on it for a limited period. His engagement with us has been completed. During this limited period, our internal committee for POSH didn’t receive any complaints against him from any cast or crew on our film Homebound.”
Abhinav Singh took to Instagram to raise concerns about Shah’s conduct. In his post, he wrote: “The number of women who’ve reached out to me is honestly frightening. I feel like I’m having a Margot Robbie moment from Bombshell. I will not be silenced. And to those who are still employing him — f**k you.
His name is Pratik Shah. He’s a cinematographer. I’ve spoken out, and now I’m hearing from others — people who’ve felt silenced or sidelined. It’s heartbreaking. The patterns are undeniable. Many have called him a predator.”
Filmmaker and writer Shristi Riya Jain also voiced her concerns via Instagram. She wrote: “To everyone pretending to act shocked, scandalised, and suddenly awoken from their slumber… THIS man worked on one of the ‘most empathetic’ films of the year — or so the interviews at Cannes claimed.”
As of now, Pratik Shah has not issued an official statement and has deactivated his Instagram account.
