‘1920: Horrors of the Heart’ casting director and make-up artiste call out producer Vikram Bhatt, allege non-payment of fees even after three years of the film’s release
Vikram Bhatt (R) on a film set. Pics/AFP, Youtube, Instagram
Troubles continue for Vikram Bhatt, who, along with his wife Shwetambari, was granted interim bail, subject to bail bonds, on February 13 in a R30 crore fraud case. Days after casting director Parag Chadha called out Bhatt for alleged non-payment of dues on the 2023 film, 1920: Horrors of the Heart, more voices have come to the fore.
A crew member, on the condition of anonymity, told mid-day, “Rs 20 lakh was the amount agreed upon as my fee. Not a single penny was paid, neither to my assistants nor to me.”
Sneh Sharma is awaiting payment of Rs 1 lakh. Another crew member alleged the makers owe them Rs 20 lakh
1920: Horrors of the Heart was directed by Bhatt's daughter Krishna Bhatt. His wife is also credited as one of the producers. It starred Avika Gor, Danish Pandor and Rahul in lead roles. While the primary actors were fully paid, the crew alleges that it faced a common trajectory from the producers-- excuses, delays and eventual shut down.
Sneh Sharma, who was Gor's make-up artist on the film, claimed she chased the production for months to get her dues. To date, one lakh of her total payment is pending. She recalled, “We kept following with the accountants, executive producers, Vikram Bhatt’s team, but none of them would give an answer. My hairstylist was on the verge of getting kicked out of her house. They paid us initially, but during the second schedule, we were told there were no funds. Yet, they went on to shoot another film!”
Sharma, whose fee was decided as R18,000 per day, alleged she got only half her fee by the time shoot finished, and had to take the help of a cine workers’ association to get a part of her rightful pay. "I also contacted Krishna. She dismissed it by saying she wasn't part of the accounts team."
In the meantime, a few extra days of shoot for the film came up, but Sharma put her foot down. "If you're not paying, why would I come? So, they hired some other makeup artist for free."
Chadha, who collaborated with Bhatt on as many as nine films in a span of three years, admittedly had it much worse. The casting director lamented, “I wasn’t paid even a per cent of my casting fees. I worked on the film with my team of six people, and I had to pay them. It became a routine that every morning you would get up and call four people from the same production house, who are telling you different things. And you would hope ki kisi ki insaaniyat toh jaage. But when the signing authorities aren't paying, what will people under them do? The end of 2023 was the last time I connected with them."
What worked against the crew was lack of contracts. A senior crew member told mid-day that when he mentioned to Bhatt the need of a contract, he was told, "'We are family.'" He further shared, "The only thing that I have is an email from the office saying that this is the money that is still pending. Apart from that, I don't have anything. A lot of people worked very hard in good faith. But they were betrayed. People cried on set."
While some didn't have the confidence to reach out to cine workers associations and unions owing to absence of contracts, others were exhausted after months of ordeal, and had little hope of any external help.
1920: Horrors of the Heart wasn't a standalone case. According to Bhatt's frequent collaborators, this was a pattern, which they overlooked out of respect and trust in long-standing partnerships.
"Payments were always delayed but you would eventually get it because they wanted the next job to be done. But it never happened ki paisa saamne se aaya. I had to ask 50 times to get my dues. On 1920: Horrors of the Heart, the team would constantly give you hope. They never said that they wouldn't pay. They would say, 'We don't have it right now. But it will come.' If they say we will not pay, people will create a scene. But the moment you get a little more firm, saying, 'I want the money to come in,' is when they disconnect you," he claimed.
Chadha had taken up casting duties of Bhatt's Khilone, which followed 1920: Horrors of the Heart, but left mid-way. "I got the lead actor, Anupriya Goenka, on board. But by that time, the production house was non-responsive to me. So, I left the film in the middle. Jab 1920 ka paisa nahi mila, toh Khilone ka paisa kaise maangta? But I hear that none of the crew and cast from even Khilone has been paid," he claimed.
A crew member, who is due over Rs 40 lakhs from his long-time collaboration with Bhatt, says, "I would get a part of the payment for a film, then we would move on to the next and so on. I never received the full payment for any film. The backlog for my assistants also runs into lakhs, which I have been paying from my pocket."
Chadha has long bid adieu to the hope of getting his dues. But he wants to speak up to spread awareness among upcoming artistes. "It's just something that needs to come out. The more it comes out, the better it is for the future generation. People, who earn Rs 5,000-6,000 per day, are being pushed. You want to create awareness that whoever works with such a production house should do it at their risk," he said.
His Instagram post has hit a chord with many artistes and technicians in the industry. But he admitted that he was initially reluctant to speak up about it.
"I was scared all this while because we know how it is (in the industry). Even if you are right, people can think, 'This guy is trouble. He puts it out on Instagram. We don't want to work with a person like that.' And it's not about delays. We understand delays. I've been working for say 15 years in the industry, nothing comes on time. But the intent to kind of give the money to somebody who's worked for you was just not there in this production house," he said.
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