Karan Johar has opened up about the commercial disappointment of Jigra, the 2024 action drama starring Alia Bhatt. Directed by Vasan Bala, the film failed to meet expectations at the box office despite strong faith from the cast and crew. In a recent conversation with Suchin Mehrotra, Karan admitted the team was “disappointed, dejected and sad” but maintained that Jigra remains a project they are deeply proud of.“We all trusted Vasan’s vision,” Karan said, praising the filmmaker’s bold storytelling. “Vasan’s meta-referencing, quirks and style of breaking the grammar of filmmaking—such things may not always land. But should he stop making films like this because of that? No! He must always make films that he believes in.”A film ahead of its time?Karan revealed that he, Alia, and Bala still share a private group chat where they often joke about the film. “Vasan has a brilliant self-deprecating sense of humour. Even now, I believe that a decade or two later, we will reference Jigra as something that broke ground, something Alia was brave to do, and Vasan was brave to make,” he said.
While acknowledging the film’s lacklustre performance, Karan called it a “success story” in spirit. “There are films I am not proud of that have failed… This one, I am very proud of,” he added.Jigra, which released on October 11, revolved around a high-stakes prison break, portraying the lengths a sister would go to protect her brother. Backed by Dharma Productions, the film combined action and emotional depth but failed to connect with a wide audience at release.
