Alia Bhatt Hid Empty Theatre Seats in 'Jigra' Review Repost, Or So People Think

Actress and “Jigra” star Alia Bhatt used Instagram story text to hide empty theatre seats while reposting influencer Malvika Sitlani’s review of her latest film release. At least, that’s what people on social media think anyway.“Jigra is all warm feels. It's been a while since I've watched something so different. No romance, no song n dance...It's just pure performance and sibling love. It definitely kept me in my seat! @aliaabhatt, all hearts my love. Pure and beautiful inside and out. @vedangraina, so versatile,” Sitlani wrote on a picture from a showing.Alia’s repost overlaid the words “Thank you Mals!” where the seats were in the original photo, convincing fans she deliberately hid them to avoid embarrassment.

Someone said she used the text to cover the empty seats 😭😭😭😭🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/oJrUvT1dvg

— 💭 tessy | Shakti Shetty 👮‍♀️ (@dreamydeepika) October 16, 2024

“She could have just posted the review without the theatre background photo,” said an X user.“Now why did Mal set her up like that,” asked another.If Jigra’s is any indicator, the online opinion isn’t far off. The film posted a Rs. 4.55 crore opening, the lowest first-day numbers for a movie starring Alia in a decade since “Highway”.Jigra crept past Rs. 20 crore in six days, dipping progressively.Most ratings hovered around 2.5 stars for the movie, which had a mixed reception among audiences. Some raved about it, though many others made passing references to empty theatres.It comes fresh off the heels of a controversy involving actor-director Divya Khosla Kumar’s that Alia rigged the game.“Went to Citi Mall PVR for Jigra show. Theatre was totally empty. All theatres going empty everywhere. Alia Bhatt me sach mein bahut Jigra hai…Khud hi tickets karide aur fake collections announce kar diye. Wonder why paid media is silent,” the filmmaker wrote on Instagram on October 12, a day after the film’s release.While Alia resisted taking her bait, her longtime pal and Jigra co-producer Karan Johar didn't hold back. In a , he said "Silence is the best speech you will ever give to fools."However, fans believe Sitlani "set Alia up" when she posted the cinema hall picture.