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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Binny Bansal steps down from board of PhonePe
New Delhi, Nov 22: Flipkart's co-founder Binny Bansal has stepped down from the board of PhonePe, the fintech company said on Friday.
PhonePe also announced the appointment of Manish Sabharwal as an Independent Director and Chair of its Audit Committee.
In this role, Sabharwal will be instrumental in upholding the integrity and effectiveness of PhonePe's financial reporting, internal controls, and risk management practices, he company said in a release.
"PhonePe also announced that Flipkart's co-founder, Binny Bansal has stepped down from its Board of Directors. Binny acquired PhonePe in 2016 and has been on its Board since then," the release said.
Commenting on the board rejig, Sameer Nigam, CEO and Founder of PhonePe said, "I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Binny Bansal for being one of PhonePe's earliest and staunchest supporters. His active engagement, strategic guidance, and personal mentorship have profoundly enriched our discussions. Binny will be missed!"
Nigam further said that Sabharwal's depth of understanding of India's macro economy, coupled with his leadership in shaping India's policies for education, employment, and employability will be invaluable as PhonePe continues to work ahead towards shared vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Sabharwal is Vice-Chairman of Teamlease Services, India's largest staffing and human capital firm.
Bansal played an instrumental role in Flipkart's acquisition of PhonePe way back in 2016 and had been on its board since then (the payments firm separated from Flipkart in 2022).
