Alia Bhatt and Divya Khosla Kumar Clash; Ranbir’s Animal Caught in Between

The release of Jigra has been surrounded by controversy. First, there were claims that Alia Bhatt’s casting in the movie was a result of nepotism. Then, after the film’s release, social media users accused the filmmakers of inflating box office numbers. In the midst of this, Divya Khossla Kumar, wife of T-Series Chairman, took to Instagram to criticize Jigra, claiming it was running in empty theaters and corporate bookings were being used to falsely show housefull collections.

On October 12, a day after Jigra’s release, Divya launched a direct attack on Alia Bhatt. She accused Alia of faking box office collections, posting a picture of an empty theater screening Jigra and writing, “Went to Citi Mall PVR for Jigra show. Theatre was totally empty … all theaters going empty everywhere. #Aliabhatt me sach mein Bahut #Jigra hai, khud hi tickets karide aur fake collections announce kar diye. Wonder why paid media is silent #weshdnotfooltheaudience #truthoverlies #HappyDussehra”.

Divya also hinted that Jigra copied the story of her film Savi, which follows a similar jailbreak plot. In Savi, Divya’s character breaks her husband out of prison, while in Jigra, Alia’s character helps her brother escape.

Further fueling the controversy, Jigra’s director Vasan Bala mentioned that Alia was cast without his consultation, intensifying the claims of nepotism. Meanwhile, the .Jigra team responded indirectly by posting about the value of silence, prompting another critical post from Divya story that read, “When you are shamelessly accustomed to stealing what rightfully belongs to others, you will always seek shelter in silence. You will have no voice, no spine.”

Amid Divya Khossla Kumar’s harsh criticism of Jigra, social media users pointed out her connection to T-Series, the production house led by her husband Bhushan Kumar. T-Series has also backed Animal, starring Ranbir Kapoor, which was directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. Released in 2023, Animal became one of Bollywood’s highest-grossing films and Ranbir’s biggest hit. With a sequel in the works, Ranbir’s association with T-Series has drawn attention as the controversy surrounding Jigra unfolds.