A fresh controversy has blown up around Indian cricketer Smriti Mandhana’s broken wedding plans with singer-composer Palash Muchhal. It all stems from serious claims by actor-producer Vidnyan Mane, who’s accusing Muchhal of infidelity and financial cheating. Mane says he got duped out of over ₹40 lakh on an unreleased film project.
He filed a formal complaint in the Sangli district of Maharashtra on Thursday, 22nd January. The couple had set their wedding for 23rd November 2025, but first pushed it back citing health issues in both families, and then fully called it off in December last year.
Singer and filmmaker #PalashMuchhal has been accused of cheating a Sangli-based man of Rs 40 lakh, according to a complaint filed with the Sangli district police on Wednesday evening.
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) January 22, 2026
According to the complaint, Vaibhav Mane, who is a childhood friend of #SmritiMandhana and a… pic.twitter.com/bGX3V9K0OE
Shocking incident at wedding festivities
In an interview with Hindustan Times, the 34-year-old Mane dropped a bombshell. He says he was at the wedding celebrations on 23rd November, 2025, when Muchhal got caught red-handed in bed with another woman. “It was a scary scene, he got beaten up by Indian women cricketers,” Mane said. The entire family is chindi chor. I thought he’d get married and settle in Sangli, but it has completely backfired on me.”
Childhood friend turned investor speaks out
Mane claims he’s Smriti Mandhana’s childhood friend and got introduced to Muchhal through her family. He also hit out at financial pressure from the Muchhals. Last month, he met Muchhal’s mom, Amita Muchhal, who told him the film’s release budget had jumped to Rs 1.5 crore. They pushed him to shell out another Rs 10 lakh, or he’d lose everything. “They started blackmailing me and threatened to kick me out of the film, so I had to file the complaint,” he explained.
Communication was cut off after the split
After the wedding was scrapped, Mane says the family blocked him everywhere. He found out that other artists from the movie hadn’t been paid either. “I’ve heard of directors scamming producers in films, but this is straight-up theft,” he added. Mane insists he has solid proof, like chats and call recordings, ready to share with cops and media.
Muchhal hit back on his Instagram story, calling all claims “entirely baseless and factually incorrect.” He said they’re meant to ruin his name with bad intentions. His lawyer, Shreyansh Mithare, is checking legal options, and it’ll be handled in court. With rumours flying, both Mandhana and Muchhal put out statements. Smriti said she wanted to “clarify that the wedding is called off” and asked for privacy. Muchhal shared, “I’ve decided to move on and step back from my personal relationship. It’s been super tough seeing people react to baseless rumours about something sacred to me. This is my hardest phase, but I’ll handle it gracefully, sticking to my beliefs.”
