Vasan Bala reflects on 'Jigra's poor box-office performance: "something clearly went wrong and...."

Vasan Bala, the director of Jigra, has spoken out about the disappointing performance of the film at the box office. Despite starring Alia Bhatt, one of Bollywood’s top actresses, Jigra struggled to make a mark, leaving Bala to reflect on what went wrong. In a recent interview with Fever FM, the filmmaker shared his thoughts on the film’s lackluster response, revealing his responsibility as a director to ensure success.

Bala acknowledged that Alia Bhatt, being such a sought-after actress, had many opportunities but chose Jigra. “She could have been on any other film set, but she trusted me with this choice. It is my responsibility to deliver at the box office because filmmaking is a business too,” he explained. He added that something clearly went wrong, saying, “People have stayed away, something didn’t resonate with them, and it’s up to me to figure that out.”

On its opening day, Jigra earned just Rs 4.55 crore in India, making it Alia Bhatt’s lowest box office opener since Highway in 2014, which earned Rs 3.48 crore. Despite a slow start, most of Alia’s other films have opened to much stronger numbers, usually earning at least Rs 7 crore or more. As of now, Jigra has collected Rs 27.30 crore in total, as per reports from Sacnilk.com, but the numbers have been depleting day by day.

The film has also been surrounded by various controversies. Even before its release, Bala expressed his frustration in an interview, revealing that he was unhappy when producer Karan Johar forwarded an early draft of the script to Alia Bhatt without his consent. This comment was quickly misinterpreted, leading to backlash and prompting Johar to defend himself, urging people to avoid "clickbait assumptions."

Further controversy struck when actor Divya Khosla Kumar accused Jigra of plagiarizing the plot of her film Savi. In addition, actor Bijou Thaangjam, from Manipur, claimed unprofessional behavior from the casting team of Jigra. Amid the ongoing issues, Vasan Bala deactivated his X account, choosing to step away from the noise.

Despite the controversies and setbacks, Jigra remains a significant release of 2023, but it leaves both Bala and the team with much to reflect on.