Karan Johar Addresses Jigra Casting Controversy Amid Vasan Bala’s Criticism

Filmmaker defends himself against backlash, urges fans to understand full context before jumping to conclusions.

Director Vasan Bala recently revealed his displeasure over Karan Johar sending an incomplete script of Jigra to Alia Bhatt without his approval, sparking widespread criticism against Johar and reigniting debates about nepotism in Bollywood. Johar has now responded to the uproar, calling for clarity and urging people not to misinterpret the situation based on selective information.

Taking to Instagram, Johar wrote, “Twitter became X and became my X a while ago… I broke up with the nauseous noise and muted the unwarranted angst. But social media is like the Loch Ness monster—it gets to you even when you can’t see it.”

He continued, “I was flooded with Vasan Bala’s interview, which he answered with pure innocence and so much love. The misinterpretation of his comment about me sending the script to Alia without his grammar checks made me laugh initially, but now it’s truly annoying. Vasan remains one of my most talented collaborators, and if you see his interview and hear his tone, you’ll totally get it! But no… much ado about nothing is all over the place.”

Karan Johar Addresses Jigra Casting Controversy Amid Vasan Bala’s Criticism

Filmmaker defends himself against backlash, urges fans to understand full context before jumping to conclusions.

Director Vasan Bala recently revealed his displeasure over Karan Johar sending an incomplete script of Jigra to Alia Bhatt without his approval, sparking widespread criticism against Johar and reigniting debates about nepotism in Bollywood. Johar has now responded to the uproar, calling for clarity and urging people not to misinterpret the situation based on selective information.

Taking to Instagram, Johar wrote, “Twitter became X and became my X a while ago… I broke up with the nauseous noise and muted the unwarranted angst. But social media is like the Loch Ness monster—it gets to you even when you can’t see it.”

He continued, “I was flooded with Vasan Bala’s interview, which he answered with pure innocence and so much love. The misinterpretation of his comment about me sending the script to Alia without his grammar checks made me laugh initially, but now it’s truly annoying. Vasan remains one of my most talented collaborators, and if you see his interview and hear his tone, you’ll totally get it! But no… much ado about nothing is all over the place.”

Johar concluded his post with a plea for patience and understanding, asking, “Please hear and read entire interviews before making clickbait assumptions. Loads of love to all of you.”

In the original interview with Tried & Refused Productions, Bala recounted how he had hastily sent an email to Johar as a rough draft, more a stream of consciousness than a polished script. He was surprised when Johar quickly forwarded it to Alia Bhatt, expressing disappointment that it was sent without revisions. Bala admitted he would have at least performed a spell check, corrected grammar, and refined the protagonist’s introduction.

Jigra, starring Alia Bhatt and Vedang Raina, is set to release on October 11, 2024.