Vasan Bala on Jigra’s box office struggle: The surprise was the failure

As the Alia Bhatt starrer Jigra struggles at the box office, director Vasan Bala in a recent interview spoke about the film’s lukewarm performance and how he dealt with feedback after release.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Vasan said that after the release things have been “tough”. “For me, it has always been a struggle to put the film out. But this time, it was a given that the film was going to be out and in a big way. So this is a first for me, and I don’t even know how to process this. What I do know is there is a certain responsibility in the mainstream to deliver (at the) box office,” he said.

When asked about his experience with releasing a commercial film at this scale, the director said, “The surprise was the failure because you obviously don’t set out to fail. Also, this was not a very stubborn, I-will-only-deliver-it-this-way kind of film. I thought it was a pretty accessible, straight-arrow film, and the emotions were universal.”

He also spoke about whether he feels if he disappointed the film’s producer Karan Johar and lead actor Alia. “I do feel it. I feel it majorly. I mean, they are supremely supportive, and there is no ounce of letting me feel like this. It is something that I have to grapple with,” he said.

According to reports, Jigra has performed below expectations at the box office. It’s current earnings stand at Rs 22.45 crore.