Pratik Shah Controversy Explained: From Homebound Cinematographer Deleting Instagram Account To Dharma Productions' Clarification, What We Know So Far

Pratik Shah, who is known for his work in Homebound, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival 2025 and Ananya Panday's CTRL, is at the helm of news after an independent filmmaker, Abhinav Singh, accused the Cinematographer of abuse. He described him as a "highly manipulative" and "emotionally abusive" person.

Who is Pratik Shah?

He is an American cinematographer from Dallas, Texas, who has worked in movies such as Jubilee, CTRL, Akka and Homebound. He majored in Fine Art Photography at the Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, DC, in the BFA program and further pursued cinematography in the MFZ program at UCLA in Los Angeles, CA, as per IMDb.

What is the controversy around Pratik Shah?

Filmmaker Abhinav Singh took to his Instagram handle and penned a note awaring his female friends to maintain distance from Shah. He further asked them to reach out to him directly if they want to know what he has done. A few hours later, he shared another post on his Instagram stories informing that several women reached out to him about Shah, and some even narrated their story. "The number of women who’ve reached out to me is honestly frightening. I feel like I’m having a Margot Robbie moment from Bombshell. I will not be silenced. And to those who are still employing him – f**k you. His name is Pratik Shah. He’s a cinematographer. I’ve spoken out, and now I’m hearing from others — people who’ve felt silenced or sidelined. It’s heartbreaking. The patterns are undeniable. Many have called him a predator.”

Not just Abhinav, a filmmaker and writer, Srishti Riya Jain also took to her Instagram stories and shared a series of posts claiming that Shah has been on the "prowl since 4 years". "To everyone pretending to act shocked, scandalised, and suddenly awoken from their slumber… THIS man worked on one of the ‘most empathetic’ films of the year — or so the interviews at Cannes claimed,” her note reads.

Pratik Shah's past wrongdoings come to light

The Hollywood Reporter India reported that this is not the first time Shah has been embroiled in abuse allegations. Around four years ago, a young female cinematographer filed a complaint against him in the Indian Women Cinematographers’ Collective (IWCC) and shared that he had asked for her nude photos. When Shah was confronted, he apologised to her and reportedly called it a "one-off incident". IWCC left him with a warning.

Pratik Shah deletes his Instagram account

Soon after the news caught fire, Shah deleted his Instagram handle. When we searched for him on Instagram, his page reads, "Profile isn't available."

Dharma Production clears the stand on misconduct allegations against Pratik Shah

Dharma Production bankrolled Homebound, for which Pratik Shah was a cinematographer. In response to the allegations, the production house has issued a statement clarifying its stand. They shared that the company maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding inappropriate behaviour in any form. They further made it clear that Shah was hired for a short duration as a freelancer, and during his tenure Internal Committee didn't register any complaints against Shah.

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