In addition to being embroiled in controversy, Alia Bhatt’s Jigra is facing challenges at the box office. In a recent interview, Jigra director Vasan Bala addressed the film’s underwhelming performance, discussed his approach to post-release feedback, and emphasized the unwavering support he has received from both Alia Bhatt and producer Karan Johar.
Vasan described the period following Jigra’s release as “tough” and mentioned that he is navigating this phase “one day at a time” during his discussion with The Hollywood Reporter. He explained, “For me, it has always been a struggle to put the film out. But this time, it was a given that the film was going to be out and in a big way. So this is a first for me, and I don’t even know how to process this. What I do know is there is a certain responsibility in the mainstream to deliver (at the) box office.”
When asked if he felt he had let down Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt, Vasan Bala candidly admitted, “I do feel it. I feel it majorly. I mean, they are supremely supportive, and there is no ounce of letting me feel like this. It is something that I have to grapple with.”
The director also highlighted the necessity of being receptive to criticism to keep moving forward in his filmmaking journey. “It is never graceful to defend a film after a point,” he noted.
Vasan Bala acknowledged the heightened scrutiny that comes with creating a mainstream film. “Obviously, there will be much more scrutiny now,” he remarked, adding, “Because I have taken a mainstream star and the film has not done the numbers. So I think the more open I am, the chances are that I will make some more films.”
Jigra has earned Rs 22.45 crore in its first week of release. As reported by Bollywood Hungama, the film’s production budget was Rs 80 crore, with an additional Rs 10 crore dedicated to print and publicity. Despite its struggles at the box office, the film has already recouped its costs through the sale of digital and satellite rights. “The entire sum of Rs 90 crore have been recovered by Dharma with sale of digital and satellite rights. Every penny of money that the film earns from music rights and theatrical will be a profit for Dharma,” a trade source revealed to the portal.
In Jigra, Alia and Vedang play siblings, and their chemistry is already getting praise from the audience. The trailer starts with Alia Bhatt’s character receiving a late-night call, informing her that her brother, Ankur (played by Vedang Raina), has been arrested. Confused and worried, she asks him if he’s done anything wrong and if his blood tests will be clean. One then sees Ankur in a courtroom in a foreign country, unable to understand the language, as he’s taken into custody.
Determined to save her brother, Alia sets off on a mission, desperate to see him. She asks if hurting herself would force the authorities to let her visit him, but she’s repeatedly denied access. We watch as she travels to the country where he’s being held and begins her fight to get him released. The trailer picks up with intense action as Alia performs daring stunts, evading guards and taking extreme measures to save her brother, who is being tortured in jail. As she faces roadblocks at every turn, she refuses to give up.
In an earlier interview with The Indian Express, Alia Bhatt shared her reason behind choosing Jigra, where she’s on a mission to free her brother, played by Vedang Raina, while he’s stuck in a foreign jail. She said, “When Jigra came to me, I was going through my most tigress, protective phase. It is possibly why I went mad about the material. It really, really spoke to me. Maybe it would have spoken to me prior as well, but it spoke to me very differently. It hit a different chord. Maybe something else must have come out of that. It is not like I can measure or mould that, but motherhood does make a difference.”
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