Jigra Controversy: Manipur Actor Alleges ‘Unprofessional’ Conduct by Film’s Makers

Jigra controversy Manipur actor

Jigra Controversy: Alia Bhatt’s latest release Jigra, directed by Vasan Bala has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in the last few days. The film released on October 11 to mixed reviews and failed to open well at the box office. Now, Manipur based actor Bijou Thaangjam has accused the makers of Alia Bhatt starrer of ‘unprofessional behaviour’.

He posted on his X account that he was approached for a role in the film but was left in the dark about it and thus he missed out on other projects and wasted his time.

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Bijou posted a statement on his X account on Sunday about what happened during the casting process of the film last year. He wrote in the caption, “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.”

The statement shared by Bijou read, "I am not here to jump on the bandwagon on the Jigra controversy over the alleged copying of Divya Khossla Kumar's Savi, but I've been keeping my own experience with the Jigra team under wraps for a while, and maybe it's time to speak up. 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."

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He added, "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."

Concluding his statement, the actor said: “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. I am 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.”

Earlier, actor Divya Khossla Kumar had slammed Alia Bhatt, accusing her of manipulating the box office numbers. Alia didn’t respond but Karan Johar posted a note on his Instagram stories that read, “Silence is the best speech you will ever give to fools.” Divya doubled down though, posting, “Truth will always offend fools opposed to it” on her stories.

Jigra opened to ₹4.25 crore on its first day, the worst opening in 10 years for Alia. It has so far collected ₹16.75 crore and the third day collection is ₹5.65 crore.

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