Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt, known for her impressive acting chops, finds herself at the center of a growing controversy following the release of her latest film, ‘Jigra.’ Despite Alia’s acclaimed performance, the film has seen a mixed bag of reviews that haven’t quite added up to box office success. In what appears to be a bid for damage control, Alia has been accused of trying to showcase a more positive perception of the film, but this strategy seems to have only backfired further, drawing more criticism than acclaim from netizens and industry insiders alike.
The controversy erupted after Alia Bhatt shared glowing remarks on social media from influencer Malvika Sitlani about ‘Jigra.’ Sitlani’s post praised the movie’s unique narrative, highlighting its pure performance and sibling love without the conventional Bollywood elements of romance or song and dance. Alia, visibly enthused by this endorsement, expressed her gratitude with a heartfelt “Thank you mals!” on her story. However, this gesture quickly sparked discussion when observant Reddit users pointed out that Alia’s caption conveniently masked empty seats visible in the shared video, leading many to question the actual viewer turnout the film is receiving.
Commentary on Reddit was swift and critical. One user expressed, “This is both hilarious and super embarrassing! Alia, KJo, Dharma, and her PR need to face the fact that this movie is a flop, and there’s no saving it now. Hiding empty seats or manipulating the narrative with PR won’t change the outcome.” Another user added, “For a moment, even if I thought Bhusan’s wife was exaggerating, there are literally just three people here and one of them is Mals. Honestly, at this point, all the trolling against Alia and Karan would stop if they just accept Jigra is a failure, learn from their mistakes, and move on. The constant PR cover-up to make it seem like the movie is doing well is what’s making people hate/troll them more.
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The backlash grew as more incidents involving ‘Jigra’ came to light. Actor-filmmaker Divya Khossla accused the film’s team of inflating box office receipts, despite apparent lackluster attendance. This claim stirred tension between Khossla and Karan Johar, the producer of the film, leading to cryptic social media exchanges hinting at the behind-the-scenes drama. In addition to the financial disputes, the production also faced criticism from Bijou Thaangjam, an actor from Manipur. Thaangjam accused the film’s creators of discriminatory practices, revealing he was allegedly promised a role only to be inexplicably stalled and ignored over several months.
Directed by Vasan Bala, ‘Jigra’ made its theatrical debut on October 11, but instead of celebrating success, its launch has been more a tale of public relations woes and industry grievances. The team behind the film is now under pressure not only to manage the film’s struggling performance at the box office but also to address the controversies that have overshadowed its release.
For Alia Bhatt, this situation seems to underscore the challenges stars face in navigating modern audience expectations and the social media landscape. What might have been intended as a supportive gesture to boost the film’s perception has instead seemed to highlight the very issues it aimed to counteract, compounding the belief that the situation around ‘Jigra’ is less than rosy. Despite the efforts to maintain a positive narrative, the transparency demanded by today’s audiences means that attempts at such ‘damage control’ can sometimes work against the intent, amplifying the original concerns.
As the discussions continue to unfold online, keen observers are left to wonder what lessons will be learned from this experience. Will ‘Jigra’s’ team manage to steer the conversation in a different direction, or will this incident become another cautionary tale of Bollywood’s trials with manipulating public perception? Only time will tell how ‘Jigra’ will fare in the long run, both in terms of its cinematic journey and its off-screen controversies.
