‘Jigra’ director Vasan Bala deactivates X account

New Delhi, Oct 20 (PTI) Director Vasan Bala appears to have deactivated his X account amid a series of controversies surrounding his latest release “Jigra”.

Starring Alia Bhatt and Vedang Raina and produced by Dharma Productions, the action thriller didn’t perform well both commercially and critically after it released on October 11 alongside “Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video”, a comedy starring Rajkummar Rao and Triptii Dimri.

When one searches for Bala’s profile with ‘@Vasan_Bala’ as the handle name on X, a message stating “This account doesn’t exist. Try searching for another” appears.

Just a day ago, the director — also known for “Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota” and “Monica, O My Darling” — was actively sharing posts and replying to comments on X.

“Jigra” has been embroiled in a series of controversies even before it hit the theatres.

In a pre-release interview, Bala said he was “really not happy” when producer Karan Johar forwarded the roughly drafted script of “Jigra” to Bhatt via email. Soon, Johar slammed the “gore misinterpretation” of Bala’s comments, urging people to read entire interviews before making “click bait assumptions”.

Days later, Dharma Productions unanimously decided to not organise pre-release screenings for its upcoming films, calling it a “necessary step” to maintain a level of excitement in the movie-watching experience.

There was also a claim of plagiarism against the film by actor Divya Khosla Kumar, who alleged that “Jigra”, a jailbreak drama, resembled the plot line of her last film “Savi”.

Bijou Thaangjam, an actor hailing from Manipur, accused the casting team of “Jigra” for “unprofessional behaviour”.