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Vasan Bala feels he disappointed Alia Bhatt and Karan Johar amid Jigra’s box office struggle: ‘Not graceful to defend a film after a point’

Jigra director Vasan Bala spoke about the Alia Bhatt-starrer's lukewarm performance, how he accepts the feedback post its release.

Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt have jointly produced Vasan Bala's directorial Jigra. (Pic: Dharma Productions, Karan Johar/Instagram, X)

Apart from being at the centre of controversy, Alia Bhatt’s Jigra is also struggling at the box office. In a recent interaction, Jigra director Vasan Bala spoke about the film’s lukewarm performance, how he accepts the feedback post-release, and how both Alia and producer Karan Johar have been “supremely supportive” towards him.

Vasan described the aftermath of Jigra’s release as “tough” and shared that he is taking things “one day at a time” during his conversation with The Hollywood Reporter. “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,” he said.

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When asked if he feels he disappointed Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt, Vasan Bala 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.”

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The filmmaker also acknowledged the importance of being open to criticism to continue making films in the future. “It is never graceful to defend a film after a point,” he remarked.

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Vasan Bala also accepted that making a mainstream film comes with intense scrutiny. “Obviously, there will be much more scrutiny now,” he stated, 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.”

Also read | ‘Paid reviews, extortion, negative stories’: Industry insiders reveal possible reasons behind Dharma Productions putting an end to press screenings with Alia Bhatt’s Jigra

Jigra has earned Rs 22.45 crore within a week of its release. According to Bollywood Hungama, the film was made on a budget of Rs 80 crore, with an additional Rs 10 crore allocated for print and publicity. Despite its box office struggles, the website reported that the film has already recovered its cost by selling 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 told the portal.

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