Cinematographer Pratik Shah, known for projects like Vikramaditya Motwane’s Jubilee (2023) and CTRL (2024), has been accused of sexual misconduct and manipulative behaviour by multiple women. The allegations surfaced after filmmaker Abhinav Singh took to Instagram on May 29 to share testimonies of several women who accused Pratik of sexual misconduct, inappropriate and highly manipulative behaviour, without disclosing their identities.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pratik had been under scrutiny four years ago when a young cinematographer reported him to the Indian Women Cinematographers’ Collective (IWCC), after he allegedly solicited a nude photograph.
Pratik reportedly apologised when confronted by a senior IWCC member about that incident and said it was a one-off incident that won’t happen again.
Sharing the recent allegations against Pratik, Abhinav Singh claimed that at least 20 women had reached out to him and labelled Pratik as a “predator.”
A day later, Pratik Shah deactivated his Instagram account.
Pratik’s latest work was for Neeraj Ghaywan’s film Homebound, produced by Dharma Productions and screened at the Cannes Film Festival. On May 31, two days after the allegations came to light, Dharma Productions issued a statement distancing itself from the controversy and clarified that Pratik was only a freelancer on the Homebound project.
“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,” said the statement released by the production house, spearheaded by director-producer Karan Johar.
The statement also clarified that the POSH-mandated Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at Dharma did not receive any complaints against Pratik during his association with Homebound.
Commenting on the allegations against Pratik, filmmaker Hansal Mehta took to X and said, “Predatory behaviour by men in positions of power must be investigated thoroughly, and if found true, must be called out — unequivocally, and without delay. For too long, predators have weaponised influence, privilege, and fear to silence survivors. That silence must be broken.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pratik is likely to be dropped from working on a biopic, which is in the pipeline, based on the life of former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, directed by Vikramaditya Motwane.