Dharma Productions addresses abuse allegations against Homebound DoP: 'Our internal committee didn't receive complaints'

Cinematographer Pratik Shah was accused of inappropriate behaviour towards women. Now Dharma Productions has issued a statement on the issue.

The cinematographer of Homebound, Pratik Shah, deleted his Instagram account after he was accused of abuse and inappropriate conduct. Now the makers of the film, Dharma Productions, has issued a statement addressing the matter. The statement clarified that the POSH committee of the production house ‘didn’t receive any complaints against him from any cast or crew’ during the shoot of the film. (Also read: Homebound cinematographer Pratik Shah deletes Instagram amid abuse allegations; multiple women share stories)

Pratik Shah was the cinematographer of Homebound, which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

The official statement

Dharma Productions stated in an official statement, “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 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.”

The allegations

On Friday, independent filmmaker Abhinav Singh shared a note of warning on his Instagram, asking his female friends to be wary of the cinematographer. He then wrote that numerous women reached out to him about the cinematographer sharing his predatory behaviour. Filmmaker-writer Srishti Riya Jain also posted a series of screenshots on her Instagram stories, adding that Pratik has ‘been on the prowl since 4 years’.

Pratik worked as a cinematographer on Homebound, the only Indian feature film to screen at the Cannes Film Festival this year at the Un Certain Regard section. It is produced by Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta, and Somen Mishra. The co-producers include Marijke de Souza and Melita Toscan Du Plantier. The film, which stars Ishaan Khatter, Janhvi Kapoor and Vishal Jethwa, received a 9-minute-long standing ovation at Cannes.