Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari Bhatt have been booked by Udaipur police in connection with a Rs 30-crore fraud case related to a film project, as per reports.

Bhatt, however, has denied the allegations, claiming that the police may have been misled with “forged” documents.

According to an FIR lodged against the filmmaker, the project in question was supposed to be a biopic to honour the late wife of the complainant, Dr Ajay Murdia, news agency ANI reported.

Vikram Bhatt and his team lured Murdia with the promise of a film that would yield Rs 200 crore in profits, but instead misappropriated over Rs 30 crore, according to the FIR.

In addition to Vikram Bhatt, the complaint also names Mehboob and Dinesh Kataria, Udaipur Superintendent of Police Yogesh Goyal told ANI.

“An FIR has been filed in which the complainant has alleged that in the memory of his late wife, he had an agreement with Vikram Bhatt’s company for the production of some movies and documentaries. The complainant paid an amount to Vikram Bhatt’s company, and a contract was signed to produce four movies,” Goyal said.

“The production house failed to produce the movies as per the contract, and the two movies that were made were not rightfully attributed. The production of the movie, which had the highest budget, was never started. Investigation is going on, and action will be taken appropriately,” Goyal added.

Meanwhile, Vikram Bhatt in an interview with NDTV said that he firmly denies the allegations and believes the police were misled.

“Yes, I found out today that Ajay Murdia, the founder of Indira IVF, has filed an FIR not just against me but against eight of us. I have read the FIR, and in my view, it is misleading. The police have been completely misguided because the things written in the FIR are absolutely wrong,” Bhatt said.

Suggesting that forged documents may have been used to convince authorities, Bhatt added, “It’s obvious that he must have created some fabricated, forged documents. I don’t know what exactly, but there must be something he used to convince the police.”

Bhatt further claimed that Murdia had suddenly halted the film Virat during production and failed to settle payments owed to the technicians.

Bhatt assured that he would cooperate with the authorities and provide required evidence, adding, “What I am saying, I have complete evidence for it. So my request to the police is: if you need proof, come to me, I will show everything. After that, you will know who is right and who is wrong.”

Bhatt is best known for his thrillers, including Ghulam, and for his contributions to horror cinema, notably the Raaz and 1920 series.

His latest film, Tumko Meri Kasam, was produced by the complainant, Dr Murdia, and served as a biopic of the Indira IVF founder. The film featured Anupam Kher, Adah Sharma and Esha Deol.