Jigra Director Takes Responsibility for Box Office Failure: Alia and Karan Left Disappointed

The much-anticipated film Jigra, starring Alia Bhatt and Vedang Raina, has underperformed at the box office, leaving fans and critics puzzled. Despite extensive promotions, the film failed to attract audiences to theaters, raising questions about its poor performance. In fact, Jigra has become Alia Bhatt’s worst opening film in the last decade. As criticism mounts, director Vasan Bala has stepped forward to take full responsibility for the film's failure.

Vasan Bala Reflects on the Failure of Jigra

In a recent interview, director Vasan Bala opened up about the disappointing outcome of Jigra and explained that Alia Bhatt had chosen to star in the film, even though she had other offers. "Alia Bhatt is everyone’s first choice. She could have been working on another set, but she decided to do Jigra," said Bala. He went on to explain that while Alia placed her trust in him and the project, something crucial was missing, which ultimately failed to draw audiences to the theaters.

Why Didn’t People Buy Tickets?

Speaking to Fever FM, Vasan Bala admitted that as a filmmaker, the box office performance is his responsibility. "We are in the business of filmmaking, and it’s my job to ensure the film does well at the box office. Clearly, something went wrong. People didn’t feel compelled to buy tickets or come to the theaters. I need to understand what happened," Bala said.

His reflection highlighted the importance of drawing audiences in, especially when a star like Alia Bhatt dedicates her time to a project. Bala emphasized that it’s a filmmaker’s duty to ensure the film lives up to the trust that actors and audiences place in it.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bala shared his shock and disappointment at the film’s failure. "No one is ever fully prepared for failure," he said, expressing how the outcome came as a surprise. Bala explained that Jigra was a simple, emotional film that had a lot of heart, but it somehow failed to connect with audiences. "I feel like I let down both producer Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt," he added.

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Social Media Backlash and Account Deactivation

As the film continues to face criticism on social media, Vasan Bala deactivated his X (formerly Twitter) account on October 20. Negative comments and comparisons to other films, like Divya Khosla’s Savi, have added to the director’s frustration. Divya Khosla even took a dig at Alia Bhatt, claiming that Alia was buying her own tickets to inflate the film’s box office numbers.

The Road Ahead for Jigra

Despite the film’s poor start, Jigra may still find an audience through streaming platforms or word-of-mouth recommendations. However, for now, both the director and the cast are reflecting on what went wrong and how to learn from this experience.

While Vasan Bala takes responsibility, the Jigra team will undoubtedly look for ways to bounce back from this disappointment.