Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt’s mother Varsha Pravin Bhatt passed away on Saturday morning following prolonged illness, a family insider said. She was 75. Her last rites were held at around 2pm at Versova crematorium in presence of family.

“She has been unwell for a while. She was on the ventilator for a few days. Her organs had failed,” the insider close to Vikram Bhatt said. Vikram and his family are yet to issue an official statement regarding this.

Varsha was wife of cinematographer Pravin Bhatt, who has worked on classic films like Umrao Jaan, Masoom, Agneepath, Arth, Aashiqui, and Raaz among others. Vikram entered the film industry when he was 14 as he assisted director Mukul Anand on his debut film, Kanoon Kya Karega (1984).

Vikram later went on to direct films like Aamir Khan and Rani Mukerji's Ghulam (1998), the horror film, Raaz (2002), Footpath (2002), Aetbaar (2004) and Raaz 3 (2012).

On the work front, Vikram Bhatt is awaiting the release of his upcoming film, Haunted: Ghosts of the Past, which is set to release theatrically on November 21. His last directorial, Tumko Meri Kasam was released in theatres earlier this year.