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Days after Divya Khosla accused the makers of Jigra of “faking” box office collections, an actor from Northeast India has spoken out against the team. Bijou ThaangJam, known for his roles in films like Mary Kom and Rocketry, has accused the producers of discrimination toward actors from the region. On Sunday, the actor took to his X handle to share his experience with the Jigra team.
He wrote, “I am not here to jump on the bandwagon with the Jigra controversy over the alleged copying of Divya Khosla’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.”
Bijou detailed his experience, stating, “Back in 2023, I was approached by their casting team to audition for a role. I sent in 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 for the entire month of December, expecting that I’d be ready to shoot for them at any moment.”
He accused the makers of wasting his time, which caused him to miss several opportunities while waiting for the Jigra shoot.
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 #VasanBala pic.twitter.com/zZBZjxOz6k
— Bijou ThaangJam (@BijouThaangjam) October 13, 2024
The actor continued, “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.”
In his post, Bijou ThaangJam emphasised, “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.”
The Jigra team has yet to respond to Bijou’s claims.
The controversy surrounding Jigra began when comparisons were drawn between Divya Khosla’s film Savi and Alia Bhatt’s Jigra. Savi, featureing Divya, Harshvardhan Rane, and Anil Kapoor, tells the story of a housewife trying to break her husband out of a prison in England. In contrast, Jigra follows Alia Bhatt’s character as she plans a jailbreak to rescue her brother, Vedang Raina.
Shortly after, Divya took to her Instagram Stories to accuse the makers of Jigra of manipulating the film’s box office numbers. Sharing a picture of an empty theater, she wrote, “Went to Citi Mall PVR for Jigra show. Theatre was totally empty… all theatres going empty everywhere. Alia Bhatt me sach mein bahut Jigra hai… khud hi tickets kharide aur fake collections announce kar diye. Wonder why paid media is silent.”
Directed by Vasan Bala, Jigra was released on October 11 and earned over Rs 16 crore in its first three days. The film is co-produced by its lead Alia Bhatt and Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.
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