Alia Bhatt's recently-released film Jigra has been making noise on the internet for all wrong reasons ever since it hit the theatres. After being accused of plagiarism and faking box office numbers, an actor has now claimed that the makers were "discriminatory" towards him as he hails from Northeast.
Actor Bijou Thaangjam, who has been a part of films like Mary Kom, Shivaay, Rocketry and others, accused the makers of locking him for a role in Jigra, but never reaching out to him once the shoot began.
I’m not writing this with any agenda or accusations. I just want to share the reality of how actors like me from the Northeast are often treated by big production houses. Hopefully, this sheds some light on what we face. #Jigra#JigraMovie#AliaBhatt#DivyaKhosla#VasanBalapic.twitter.com/zZBZjxOz6k
— Bijou ThaangJam (@BijouThaangjam) October 13, 2024
"Back in 2023, I was approached by their casting team to audition for a role. I sent my tapes twice over the span of four months, playing along with their timeline. By the end of November, they told me I'd be shooting in December — fantastic, right? Except they never gave me any firm shoot dates. Still, they booked me for the entire month of December, expecting that I'd be ready to shoot for them at any moment. As someone based in Imphal, Manipur, I made it very clear from the start that travel arrangements would need to be made, but that didn't seem to matter," he wrote in his X post.
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He went on to say, "Throughout the month, I was left in the dark, communicating with the casting team but receiving no real updates on when I'd actually be needed. The last message I received was on December 26th, stating 'Waiting for a revert', and after that — complete silence. Meanwhile, I'd lost out on other projects because I was sitting around, waiting for them to give me the go-ahead. But of course, that never came."
"I understand how big production houses operate. The director is undeniably talented, but the way they handled this entire situation was deeply unprofessional. For actors like me from the Northeast, it felt particularly dismissive, almost discriminatory. My time was wasted, and I missed out on other opportunities just because they expected I'd be available at a moment's notice," he stated.
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"I'm not writing this with any agenda or accusations. I just want to share the reality of how actors like me from the Northeast are often treated by big production houses. Hopefully, this sheds some light on what we face," he added.
The makers of Jigra are yet to react to Thaangjam's accusations.
Meanwhile, despite much hype and promotions, Jigra, which released on October 11, has been struggling to make a mark at the box office and managed to earn only Rs 16.75 crore over the weekend. The film also got embroiled in a controversy after Divya Khossla accused the makers of copying the story of her film, 'Savi', and also took a dig at Alia and Jigra's box office collection.
"Went to Citi Mall PVR for Jigra show. Theatre was totally empty … all theaters going empty every where #Aliabhatt me sach mein Bahut #Jigra hai.. khud hi tickets karide aur fake collections announce kar diye," she wrote on Instagram.
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While Alia remained silent, producer Karan Johar then shared a cryptic note: "Silence is the best speech you will ever give to fools."
Not one to keep quiet, Divya responded, "When you are so accustomed to stealing what rightfully belongs to others, you will always seek shelter in silence. You will have no voice, no spine."