Director Vasan Bala deactivates social media amid criticism over Jigra's box office failure
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Director Vasan Bala has deactivated his account on X (formerly known as Twitter) after facing backlash for defending his film Jigra, which struggled at the box office.
The film, starring Alia Bhatt, earned Rs 23.60 crore in its first eight days but fell short of expectations.
Despite this, Bala, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, downplayed box office numbers as a measure of success - a comment that drew ire from some online, with critics calling him "arrogant" for not acknowledging the audience's response.
The filmmaker had been active on social media until recently, but his X account now displays the message "This account doesn't exist." Bala's comments on the film’s underperformance sparked widespread trolling, with users accusing him of disregarding the audience's verdict.
Jigra had been surrounded by controversy even before its release.
In a pre-release interview, Bala expressed dissatisfaction when producer Karan Johar sent the film’s rough script to Alia Bhatt via email. Johar later criticized the misrepresentation of Bala’s words, urging people to read interviews in full before drawing conclusions.
Additionally, Jigra faced allegations of resembling Divya Khossla's film Savi, and Manipur-based actor Biju Thaangjam accused the casting team of unprofessional behavior.
Jigra hit theaters alongside Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video, starring Rajkummar Rao and Triptii Dimri. While both films had modest openings, Rajkummar’s film performed slightly better than Jigra.
In a candid interview with Fever FM, Bala took full responsibility for the film's lackluster performance, acknowledging that Alia Bhatt trusted him to deliver a hit. He stated, "She could have been on any other set, but she chose Jigra. It was my responsibility to ensure the film succeeded at the box office." Bala added that he intends to analyze what went wrong and why audiences stayed away, emphasizing the importance of justifying an actor's time and effort.
Despite opening with Rs 4.55 crore in India, Jigra saw a significant drop in collections after its first weekend, accumulating only Rs 27.30 crore after 10 days.