Manipur actor accuses "Jigra" team of unprofessionalism, terms experience 'discriminatory'

Manipur actor Bijou Thaangjam has accused the casting team of the Alia Bhatt-starrer "Jigra" of unprofessional behavior, describing the experience as "particularly dismissive, almost discriminatory".

Popular for his performances in movies like "Mary Kom" and "Shivaay", the actor said that he was asked to be available in December to shoot for the movie but never received a follow-up call.

Taking to his X handle, the actor said that he did now want to stir up controversy but thought it was time to speak up.

"Back in 2023, I was approached by their casting team to audition for a role. I sent my tapes twice over the span of four months, playing along with their timeline. By the end of November, they told me I'd be shooting in December - fantastic, right? Except they never gave me any firm shoot dates," he stated.

"Still, they booked me for the entire month of December, expecting that I'd be ready to shoot for them at any moment. As someone based in Imphal, Manipur, I made it very clear from the start that travel arrangements would need to be made, but that didn't seem to matter," Thaangjam recalled.

The actor said he was kept in the dark throughout the month except for a brief message that they were waiting for a "revert".

"Meanwhile, I'd lost out on other projects because I was sitting around, waiting for them to give me the go-ahead. But, of course, that never came," the actor said.

As an actor from Northeast, Thaangjam said the experience felt "particularly dismissive, almost discriminatory".

"My time was wasted and I missed out on other opportunities just because they expected I'd be available at a moment's notice," he wrote.

"Jigra" has faced a number of controversies, including the negativity surrounding Bhatt's casting in the movie and actor Divya Khosla Kumar's comments that the film, a jailbreak drama, resembled the plot line of her last film "Savi".