Actress Alia Bhatt recently garnered notice on social media when she shared a review of her most recent movie, Jigra, with influencer Malvika Sitlani, using an Instagram story to hide vacant seats in a cinema. Numerous people conjectured that Bhatt purposefully concealed the vacant seats to prevent humiliation.
“Jigra is all warm feels. It’s been a while since I’ve watched something so different. No romance, no songs or dance… It’s just pure performance and sibling love. It definitely kept me in my seat! @aliaabhatt, all hearts my love. Pure and beautiful inside and out. @vedangraina, so versatile.” Sitlani wrote in her review, expressing her sincere admiration for the movie. However, many fans thought that Bhatt was trying to hide the low audience turnout because she said, “Thank you Mals!” right over the empty seats in the original photo when she shared the review.
Fans and critics shared their thoughts on the matter. “She could have just posted the review without the theater background photo,” a social media user said. “Now why did Mal set her up like that?” said another user. These opinions appear to be supported by the movie’s box office performance. Jigra had the lowest first-day revenues of any Alia Bhatt film in the previous ten years, opening with a dismal ₹4.55 crore. The movie’s profits steadily declined, barely surpassing ₹20 crore in just six days.
Critics have likewise given the movie mixed reviews, with many awarding it about 2.5 stars. While some viewers commended Jigra, others pointed out how few people were at the theaters. This follows actor-director Divya Khosla Kumar’s accusations that Alia Bhatt manipulated box office receipts by purchasing her own tickets to increase collections and claimed the cinemas were empty. The incident was alluded to by Bhatt’s close friend and co-producer Karan Johar, who did not immediately comment, but left a cryptic message: “Silence is the best speech you will ever give to fools.” Fans continue to speculate that Sitlani’s photo arrangement may have unintentionally brought attention to the movie’s box office difficulties despite the uproar.
