Actor Bijou Thaangjam accuses makers of Alia Bhatt’s ‘Jigra’ of discrimination
Mumbai: Days after Divya Khosla Kumar accused the makers of Jigra of inflating box office figures, actor Bijou Thaangjam, known for his roles in Mary Kom and Rocketry has raised allegations of discrimination and unprofessional conduct against the film’s team.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Bijou opened up about his troubling experience with the casting team of Jigra, directed by Vasan Bala. The film, which stars Alia Bhatt and revolves around a sister’s daring jail break to rescue her brother, was released on October 11.
Bijou began his post by clarifying that his comments were not linked to the ongoing controversy over Jigra’s alleged similarity with Divya Khosla’s film Savi. “I am not here to jump on the bandwagon with the Jigra controversy over the alleged copying of Divya Khossla’s Savi,” he wrote. “But I’ve kept my experience with the team under wraps long enough. Maybe it’s time to speak up.”
The actor shared how he had auditioned for a role in Jigra and complied with multiple requests from the casting team. “Back in 2023, I was approached by their casting team. I sent in my audition tapes twice over four months. By the end of November, they confirmed I’d be shooting in December—fantastic, right? But despite that, they gave me no specific shoot dates. Instead, they booked me for the entire month of December, expecting I’d be available at a moment’s notice,” Bijou revealed.
He went on to accuse the production team of wasting his time, causing him to lose other professional opportunities. “I understand how big production houses work, and the director is undeniably talented. But the way they handled the situation was deeply unprofessional. For actors like me from the Northeast, it felt particularly dismissive—almost discriminatory.” The production team behind Jigra has yet to respond to Bijou’s allegations.
This controversy follows another claim from Divya Khosla Kumar, who accused Alia Bhatt of inflating Jigra’s box office numbers by posting images of empty theatres. Discussions around the similarity between Savi and Jigra have also added to the film’s troubles.
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Karnataka Assembly Speaker seeks probe after Aadhaar cards found on riverbank in Mangaluru
Mangaluru (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker U T Khader on Wednesday sought an inquiry after a large number of Aadhaar cards were found on the banks of the Nethravathi River here.
The cards were found at Farangipete in Pudu village of his Mangaluru Assembly constituency.
Khader, in a note to the Project Manager of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Bengaluru, sought immediate intervention and necessary action against those responsible.
In the note dated March 4, he said that local residents noticed the Aadhaar cards along the riverbank on March 3.
Following information received from the public, the Pudu Gram Panchayat president and villagers collected the Aadhaar cards found scattered in the area. They subsequently brought the matter to his attention and the concerned authorities, he said.
Expressing concern over the incident, the Speaker has directed that a thorough investigation be conducted to ascertain how such a large number of Aadhaar cards ended up on the riverbank and to identify those responsible.
He instructed officials to initiate appropriate legal action through the concerned department at the earliest.
