Dharma reacts to sexual misconduct allegations against Homebound cinematographer

Amid allegations of sexual misconduct against Homebound cinematographer Pratik Shah, Dharma Productions has issued a statement in the matter. They spoke about Shah`s association with the Neeraj Ghaywan-directorial and how during the shoot of the film they did not receive any complaints from the film`s team. 

Dharma Production issues statement

Reacting to allegations against Pratik Shah, the makers of Homebound wrote, “At Dharma Productions we have a zero tolerance policy against inappropriate behavior and sexual harassment towards any individual working with us in any capacity, and we treat sexual harrasment cases very seriously. 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 accuses Pratik Shah

Homebound and Jubilee cinematographer Pratik Shah has been accused of being emotionally abusive and highly manipulative by filmmaker Abhinav Singh. In a series of posts on his Instagram Stories, Abhinav shared details about a “predator” in the film industry, with nearly 20 women reportedly coming forward to share their stories with him after he shared his experience working with Shah. While he initially did not reveal the artist’s identity, he later named the person as cinematographer Pratik Shah. Shortly after being named, Pratik Shah took down his Instagram account.

Short film and ad filmmaker Abhinav Singh highlighted the silent abuse faced by women in the industry at the hands of Shah. 

Netizens call out Pratik Shah

Reacting to Singh`s post, filmmaker Srishti Riya Jain revealed that Shah has been “on the prowl for the past four years.” She also shared screenshots of discussions of Shah`s inappropriate behavior on Reddit. Sharing the screenshots, she wrote, “To everyone pretending to act shocked, scandalised, and suddenly awoken from their slumber… THIS man, who worked on one of the `most empathetic` films of the year — as per their interviews at Cannes.”

One Reddit user commented, “Pratik Shah is a total sleazeball. Slides into every girl`s DMs and talks crap.”

Another wrote, “My god, he sent me a request last year while I was liking her pics. I accepted his request, and he said, ‘Sorry, request sent by mistake.’ And I was like okay… and unfollowed him immediately.”

This article first appeared on Mid Day