Vikram Bhatt’s wife Shwetambari gets bail in Rs 30 crore cheating case, the filmmaker to stay in Udaipur jail

Allegations against Vikram Bhatt and his wife

The case pertains to allegations that funds meant for film production were misused. The complainant, Dr Ajay Murdia, founder of the Indira Group of Companies, which includes Indira IVF and Indira Entertainment LLP – has accused Bhatt and others of misappropriating approximately Rs 30 crore.

It is alleged that the funds were taken in the name of a film project and diverted, with fake bills allegedly created to facilitate withdrawals.

Vikram Bhatt and Shwetambari Bhatt were arrested in Mumbai in December 2025 and brought to Udaipur, where they have been in judicial custody since December 7. Udaipur-based Dinesh Kataria and Bhatt’s manager Mehboob Ansari were also arrested by Rajasthan Police in connection with the case.

On January 31, the Rajasthan High Court’s Jodhpur Bench rejected their bail plea, observing that granting bail at that stage would “not be appropriate,” prompting the couple to move the Supreme Court.

Separately, in January, a businessman also filed a complaint alleging that Bhatt and his daughter Krishna Bhatt Sarda cheated him of Rs 13.5 crore. That case was registered at Mumbai’s Versova police station and is reportedly being probed by the Economic Offences Wing.

The Supreme Court will now take up the matter again on February 19.

Vikram Bhatt’s film’s crew also alleges non payment of dues

Amid the cheating allegations, many members associated with Vikram Bhatt’s film 1920: Horrors of the Heart have claimed that their dues remain unpaid.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter India, casting director Parag accused Bhatt of not paying 100% of his fees. He said he had avoided speaking publicly about the issue for nearly three years out of concern for his livelihood and future work.

“I have email confirmations acknowledging my dues. Despite that, no payment was made. I’ve written this money off as bad debt. Speaking out is not about recovering it, it’s about awareness,” the casting director said.

Parag further claimed that multiple actors had reached out to him, saying they too were yet to receive their full payments and were still awaiting either partial or complete settlement.

Vishwas Kulkarni, father of actor Ketaki Kulkarni, also alleged that the makers paid only Rs 1.5 lakh out of the Rs 2.6 lakh promised to his daughter, who worked on the film for 26 days under a contract that assured her Rs 10,000 per day.

A crew member told The Hollywood Reporter India that several members of the direction and production teams, including vendors, had not been paid. While some eventually managed to recover their dues through industry contacts, others said their payments remain pending.

Another crew member shared, “I worked on the project for a few months but was not paid for the last month. We were told the payment would be cleared after the OTT release, but later informed that there was no cash flow. I needed the money during Deepavali, but nothing came my way.”

He added, “There is no hope now.”