Vasan Bala Deactivates Twitter Amid Backlash Over Jigra Box Office Flop; Netizens Question Karan Johar

Ziya Khan October 20, 2024Last Updated: October 20, 2024

Filmmaker Vasan Bala has deactivated his X (formerly Twitter) account just days after facing backlash for defending the box office performance of his latest film, Jigra. Starring Alia Bhatt, the film has struggled at the box office, but Vasan stated in an interview that he does not view box office numbers as the sole measure of success. On Sunday, Vasan’s Twitter account, which had been active until the previous day, was deleted. All previous replies to his tweets have disappeared, replaced by a message stating, “This post is from an account that no longer exists,” leaving his profile page blank.

Following the account deletion, many Twitter users speculated that the move was in response to the trolling he received for defending Jigra. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Vasan expressed his support for the film, but some users labeled him “arrogant” for not acknowledging its underperformance in the replies to his tweet.Since the account’s removal, there has been a notable shift in sentiment, with many coming to Vasan’s defense, arguing that he should not bear the brunt of the film’s failure alone. After screenshots of his absent profile circulated on Reddit, one user pointed out, “They promoted it as an Alia Bhatt aka Lady Bachchan movie, yet he is the only one being held responsible for its failure.”

Others questioned Karan Johar’s role, noting that during the film’s promotional phase, Alia Bhatt and co-star Vedang Raina were prominently featured alongside Karan as the producer, while Vasan ended up being the sole spokesperson after the film’s disappointing results.Jigra, which tells the story of a sister’s quest to free her brother from a foreign prison, received mixed to positive reviews upon its release last weekend. However, it has failed to meet box office expectations, grossing only ₹40 crore against a reported budget of ₹80 crore, making it unlikely to break even.