Alia Bhatt's latest film, Jigra, has been surrounded by controversy, with claims of box office manipulation and plagiarism referencing similarities to Divya Khossla's Savi. Now, director Vasan Bala has stepped forward to defend the film, denying all the allegations.

Going a step further, he extended an open invitation to skeptics, urging them to investigate to uncover the facts. He spoke about the stir in an interview with Hollywood Reporter.

Vasan reacts

When asked about the claims made by Divya, Vasan said, “Savi (2024), came out when we were editing the film. It is already out there. Everyone can watch it and make up their minds. I don’t really want to bring down anyone or add more fuel. With the false bookings, that, I think, is a distribution question. I don’t think it is that murky at all, but anyone who can investigate and bring out anything is more than welcome”.

Apart from the claims made by Divya, Manipur actor Bijou Thaangjam had also called out the Jigra casting team for 'unprofessional behaviour'. Bijou had accused the team of discrimination against actors from Northeast India.

Talking about the same, the director clarified, “I don't remember seeing his face or audition. He was never told that he was shortlisted. I think they checked his availability. It is normal procedure to call and ask for availability. He probably assumed he got the part. But I am sure there is always a better way of dealing with things. If he has felt bad, then I apologise because these things happen. And also, you want to be a part of something, so I do not blame him. It is easy to be bitter, and there are enough right reasons to be bitter about as well”.

There were a lot of expectations with the film. However, the film failed to elicit the expected response at the box office.

Vasan admitted that he is finding it tough to deal with. He also shared that he feels he has disappointed Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt, who backed the film as producers.

At the moment, he is not planning to start working on his next film as he is just busy grappling “with this situation”.

The stir

Recently, Divya shared a picture of an empty theatre on her Instagram story and accused Alia and Karan of inflating Jigra’s box office numbers. Her claims were followed by a cryptic Instagram story from Karan, which read, “Silence is the best speech you will ever give to fools.”

While reacting to the same, Divya, in an interview with HT City said, “Is it right to call a woman a fool for pointing out unethical practices? If this happens to me, what about those new to the industry? No one is a king here, and I won’t be treated like a subject.”

About the film

In Jigra, Alia plays a young woman, Satya Anand, who struggles to save her brother Ankur Anand (Vedang Raina), who is being tortured while being imprisoned in a foreign jail. Satya pledges to break Ankur out from the prison after he is sentenced to death. Vedang Raina). Jigra is co-written by Debashish Irengbam and Vasan. It hit the theatres on October 11.

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