In a first-of-its-kind event in Indian cinema, Karan Johar’s omnicorp, Dharma Productions, has imposed a ban on their working relationship with cinematographer Pratik Shah due to his alleged emotional or psychological abuse and manipulation towards other people. The claims made on June 01, 2025, have caused alarm and renewed concerns regarding the safety of employees in the Bollywood industry.
The Allegations Surface
The entire mess started when filmmaker Abhinav Singh went onto his Instagram and made a story accusing Pratik Shah of emotional and psychological abuse. Singh further claimed that he received “an enormous” number of emails pertaining to the allegation against Shah, which only reinforced the claims that he was indeed highly manipulative and emotionally abusive. These accusations have severely impacted Shah’s reputation, who has been credited with Shah’s significant work in contemporary Indian cinema in Vikramaditya Motwane’s Jubilee series and CTRL, the Netflix feature film.
The fact that these claims and counterclaims remain unresolved presents a huge social media problem to public regarding Singh’s allegation as Instagram has increasingly provided a platform for misconduct reveal. Singh has brought such behavior of Shah to the public and moreover has openly invited people to join making his discourse much bigger than he envisioned.
Dharma Productions’ Response
Many of you are more than familiar with the issues that arose recently regarding a certain individual getting accused of inappropriate behavior with a team member on set. Fundamental to this incident was the claim by Pratik Shah that he was employed by us on a contractual basis, but as we previously mentioned, he was a freelancer on our movie Homebound and so he was not in any contract. Pratik Shah was not under any contract with us during this time, meaning no claims could have been made while he was employed. But we do have a blanket clause that prevents anyone from managing or working with us if there are any signs of harassment at work, which means we take allegations seriously and eliminate any contracts existing between us for any allegations whether true or not. Following that policy means we have no engagement with him and ensure there are no pending contracts and there is no communication with him.
They went on to explain about the issue itself, “It is apparent and our policy is clear that there is no tolerance against violence, harassment of staff and no tolerance towards people who attempt to assimilate into sacred cultural heritages. And if we pick up the cases, it is better to proceed without complaints where no recourse can be sought.” Such measures reaffirm Dharma’s principles and moral values, especially with Karan Johar at the assistance who is cited as a key driver in the evolution of discourse within the very industry he works in.
The Result on Pratik Shah
Until recently, Pratik Shah was a growing figure in the Indian cinema industry. His achievements were recognized with Jubilee and CTRL, where he worked as a talented cinematographer, and his participation in Homebound was seen as a turning point. However, his future with the career he has built seems bear the brunt of these controversies. At this point, Shah has remained silent without a statement regarding the claims leveled against him, and it appears this silence further strengthens the speculation regarding the truth behind these accusations and what potential implications could follow.
As long as Pratik chooses to remain silent, that silence enables public scrutiny to build only greater tension regarding the controversies surrounding him. With other industry stakeholders, there remains a great deal of discomfort waiting to see how he chooses to deal with the crisis and whether he chooses to confront the claims made head on. Until then, Shah’s reputation is poised on the razor’s edge—too much of this will tip the balance in favor of losing standing in one of his country’s fastest expanding film industries.
This intervention touches upon something very important that we rarely discuss.
Shah’s case serves as a critical reminder to Shah, and others drawing attention to the already discussed dynamics of harassment in the film industry. Allegations such as this strike the weaker side of the power within the industry and serve as a clear indicator reinforcing the struggle women in particular have to face.
All the outrage that erupted after Singh’s Instagram uploads demonstrates how social media can be utilized as a powerful weapon for shaming inappropriate behavior and galvanizing public response. Singh’s posts, however, do not take into account what could Dharma Productions do in terms of policy strengthening to prevent matters like these from arising and providing a safe working environment for everyone.
The Indian film industry finds itself in the new controversy as a pending development. The issue of setting clear, accessible frameworks for reporting issues of harassment, and these frameworks include provisions to assist and provide support for the victims is on the rise. Dharma Productions working towards addressing these issues is a first step, but there is even more work needed in the realm of foresight strategic planning.
In the interest of Karan Johar and Dharma Productions, the situation stands to set an example of what ethical responsibility is and enforce it—this is their chance to take a stand. It requires a shift from accepting that modern workplaces have to contend with abusive behavior and witnesses to systematically responsive policies that capture these concerns and do something about them towards active durable solutions.
Now we must focus on Pratik Shah and how he chooses to react to the allegations. Does he step up to counter the allegations, or does he decide that doing nothing is more powerful? In the meantime, everyone is focusing on the Indian entertainment industry with the hopes that this movement will inspire a positive shift.
You can get more information regarding the development of this story on The Telegraph India.
