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Pratik Shah's Apology and the Reaction of the IWCC

Friday, July 3, 2026
5 min read
Pratik Shah's Apology and the Reaction of the IWCC

Pratik Shah’s apology over those sexual misconduct allegations just brought some real heat. It drew a massive reaction from the Indian Women Cinematographers’ Collective, or IWCC .

A day after he put out his statement, the collective basically said it didn't feel sincere. They questioned everything about why he even bothered issuing it now.

Shah, who was accused by more than twenty women of sexual misconduct last year, did release a statement to The Hollywood Reporter India on Wednesday, expressing remorse. But that wasn't enough for the IWCC . They felt his apology completely missed addressing what those women actually went through.

The IWCC really slammed it. It posted something on Instagram saying, “It took twelve months of silence. The loss of that big Sourav Ganguly biopic. And getting his name scrubbed from YRF’s *Akka*. That’s when cinematographer Pratik Shah finally seemed to find some conscience. But look at what he just published: this isn't an apology. It looks like damage control. A desperate move to get his professional life back, dressed up as some kind of moral awakening.”

It felt very calculated. Like he was trying to reframe the whole thing.

The collective went further. They argued that Shah’s statement is just another textbook example. How perpetrators weaponize modern progressive language. They cloak predatory behavior in talk about therapy and self-reflection. He crafts a narrative that demands empathy for the abuser while completely erasing the women he abused. That's the core issue they flagged.

They said his explanation seriously watered down the accusations. It added, “Soliciting nude photos? Subjecting colleagues to emotional abuse? Those aren’t just symptoms of some fragile ego or confusion from sudden fame. Those are deliberate abuses of power. He frames his predatory actions as some tragic flaw born from needing validation. He turns predatory behavior into something merely pathetic.”

And don't even get me started on the therapy stuff. They called his claims about attending weekly sessions and staying sober just a classic deflection tactic. A way to dodge accountability.

The criticism kept coming back to who was being ignored. The statement focused entirely on himself, not the actual victims. It just didn’t touch the fear. The trauma those young women experienced. Or how their careers got derailed because of him. They felt he was mourning his own downfall. Treating the victims like just collateral damage in his messy personal journey toward some kind of growth.

There was an earlier incident they brought up too. Shah had apologized after allegedly asking a junior cinematographer for a nude photo about five years ago. That’s where things got complicated. An apology followed by more offenses? It wasn't an apology. It felt like manipulation to avoid facing consequences. True accountability is quiet. It's accepting what happened without demanding an immediate return to power.

The industry, they insisted, needed to see this statement for what it was. Not a plea for forgiveness. It was basically just a job application. A bid to get back in the door.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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