Vikram Bhatt has been in jail for 70 days after his arrest in connection with a dispute over a proposed biopic of IVF founder Ajay Murdiya Indira Murdiya. The director and his wife Shwetambari have been accused of Rs 30 crore fraud.
While Vikram faced a difficult time in prison, in a recent interview he spoke about that difficult period and how he almost died. Bhatt spoke about the unexpected bonds he formed behind bars, the serious health complications he suffered, and the lessons he learned about the ordinary Indians who make up the audience for his films.Despite the conditions, he said he was met with surprising warmth and support from fellow prisoners. In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, he said: “I was staying in a barracks with 60 to 80 people.
But I saw a different India there. I discovered what friendship really means. They didn’t let me do anything. They brought me food and took care of my clothes. They used to call me Bhishma Pitama. They would say: “Pitama, sit here and tell us a horror story.”
“Every night, about 60 to 65 people would gather and ask me to tell stories.”Bhatt said the compassion he experienced was not limited to prisoners. According to him, prison officials and police officers also provided support when his health deteriorated.
“Even when my health was poor, the police and prison authorities were very supportive. People you might not expect to be kind were actually the nicest. I made some friends there for life because they protected me with their lives. There were two people sleeping on either side of me.
No one can hurt me. And I didn’t do anything to them. What they saw in me and why they cared so much about me, only God knows.”The director explained that his time in prison exposed him to people and viewpoints far removed from the film industry bubble.
For him, those interactions became a valuable learning experience.“When you’re inside with these people, who are you going to talk to? If you don’t become friends with them, who are you going to talk to? For me, this was an opportunity to reconnect with an India that I had lost touch with. This is the India that watches our films. I had to meet that India again. It was a refresher course for me, understanding how they think, what they believe, and even how they react to ghost stories.”
These are the people who go to theaters and watch our films.
“However, this period was also marked by intense physical suffering. Bhatt revealed that he suffers from axial spondyloarthritis, an autoimmune condition that causes chronic pain in the joints and muscles. Sleeping on the floor during the cold winter months greatly worsened his condition.“I almost died there in prison. I have an autoimmune disease.
I suffer from joint and muscle pain and have to sleep on a mat on the floor. “It was December and January, and it was very cold.”His health deteriorated further when he developed jaundice while in detention. Bhatt noted that he repeatedly asked the authorities to arrange medical treatment as his condition deteriorated.“I also developed jaundice, and I kept asking the authorities to take me to the hospital. At night, I would get such a high fever due to the cold that people in my barracks would give me their blankets.
Even then, I would still be shaking. I asked the authorities to take me to the hospital. They say: “Tomorrow” or “the day after tomorrow.” My cellmates were also telling them that I was very sick. But they said they did not have enough guards and security arrangements were required.
“Ultimately, convinced that hospital treatment was unlikely to arrive in time, Bhatt decided to take matters into his own hands through dietary discipline and faith.“Then I felt like they would never take me. So I started doing what I had done before when I had jaundice. I stopped eating oily foods completely and relied on gram, water and fruits. I slowly started to recover. I prayed a lot and communicated with my God because of this experience.”After its release, Bhatt received calls from several people within the film community, some of whom surprised him. “Mithun da called me, some people called me. Sanjay Dutt called me even though I had never worked with him.
I thanked him for that.”When asked if Akshay Kumar had called him, despite their professional cooperation, Bhatt answered frankly: “Why is he calling me? He is not my friend.” He also spoke about his long-standing relationship with Ajay Devgn, explaining why the actor’s call meant something different. “He called because he’s my childhood friend. Every relationship is different. How can you impose such expectations on everyone? It doesn’t make sense to expect that.”Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari Bhatt were arrested in December 2025 following a dispute related to a proposed biopic on Indira Murdia. According to the FIR, Ajay met Murdia Bhatt in Mumbai in April 2024 to discuss a film based on his late wife’s life as well as another possible historical war project. The complaint alleged that disagreements over financial matters later arose between the parties, which eventually led to legal action.
The couple was released on bail in February 2026.
