'Jigra' director Vasan Bala recently deleted his X (formerly Twitter) account, just days after facing backlash for defending the film despite its underperformance at the box office. Bala, who was actively engaging with posts and comments on the platform until a day prior, seemingly deactivated his account, which now shows the message, "This account doesn't exist."


In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bala remarked that he doesn't view box office numbers as the sole indicator of a film's success. However, these comments didn’t sit well with a segment of the internet, who labeled him "arrogant" for not accepting the audience's response.


Jigra controversy


'Jigra' has been surrounded by controversy even before its release. In a pre-release interview, Vasan Bala expressed that he was "really not happy" when producer Karan Johar forwarded an early draft of the 'Jigra' script to Alia Bhatt via email. Johar later responded to what he called the "gore misinterpretation" of Bala's comments, urging people to read entire interviews before jumping to "click-bait assumptions."


ALSO READ: Manipur-Based Actor Bijou Thaangjam Calls Out Casting Process In Jigra: 'It Felt Almost Discriminatory...'






Soon after, Dharma Productions announced they would not hold pre-release screenings for upcoming films, calling it a "necessary step" to maintain anticipation for the theatrical experience. Adding to the film's challenges, actor Divya Khossla claimed 'Jigra', a jailbreak drama, bore similarities to her last movie, 'Savi'. Additionally, Manipur-based actor Biju Thaangjam accused the 'Jigra' casting team of "unprofessional behavior."


Jigra vs Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video


'Jigra' faced stiff competition at the box office, clashing with Rajkummar Rao and Triptii Dimri's 'Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video'. While Rajkummar's film didn’t achieve massive numbers, it still performed better than Alia's 'Jigra'. According to Sacnilk, 'Jigra' earned an estimated ₹23.60 crore in its first eight days of release.


ALSO READ: Filmmaker Vasan Bala Addresses Plagiarism Allegations Against 'Jigra'