Jigra is a gripping 2024 Indian Hindi-language action thriller that marks a powerful collaboration between director Vasan Bala and actress-producer Alia Bhatt. With a compelling storyline centered around sibling love and moral courage, Jigra follows the emotional and dangerous journey of a young woman who takes matters into her own hands when her innocent brother is imprisoned abroad for a crime he didn’t commit.
Alia Bhatt delivers a bold performance in what is her 18th lead role, sharing screen space with Vedang Raina in a high-stakes tale of resilience and justice. Co-produced by Dharma Productions, Eternal Sunshine Productions, and Viacom18 Studios, this film blends action, emotion, and suspense with a unique narrative style that sets it apart in the genre.
The main shooting was done in Singapore and Mumbai between October 2023 and February 2024. Critics and viewers gave Jigra mixed to favorable reviews when it was released in theaters throughout the world on October 11, 2024, the same day as Vijayadashami. Bhatt and Raina’s performances, the narrative, and the music were praised. It failed at the box office. The main shooting was done in Singapore and Mumbai between October 2023 and February 2024. Critics and viewers gave Jigra mixed to favorable reviews when it was released in theaters throughout the world on October 11, 2024, the same day as Vijayadashami. Bhatt and Raina’s performances, the narrative, and the music were praised. It failed at the box office.
Cast and Crew:
- Director: Vasan Bala
- Writer: Debashish Irengbam, Vasan Bala
- Producer: Apoorva Mehta, Alia Bhatt, Karan Johar, Shaheen Bhatt, Soumen Mishra
- Star Cast: Alia Bhatt
- Vedang Raina
- Cinematography: Swapnil S. Sonawane
- Editor: Prerna Saigal
- Production company: Viacom18 Studios, Dharma Productions, Eternal Sunshine Productions
- Genres: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Distributor: Viacom18 Studios
- Release date: 11 October 2024
- Running time: 153 minutes
- Country: India
- Language: Hindi
Jigra movie 2024 Trailer
Star Cast
- Alia Bhatt as Satyabhama “Satya” Anand
- Aashna Vaishnav as young Satya
- Vedang Raina as Ankur Anand
- Ayaansh Kireet Solanki as young Ankur
- Manoj Pahwa as Shekhar Bhatia
- Rahul Ravindran as Karthik “Muthu” Muthuraman
- Aditya Nanda as Kabir Mehtani
- Harssh A. Singh as Jaswant
- Ankur Khanna as Rayyan
- Vivek Gomber as OIC Hansraj Landa
- Srishti Wadhwani as Ratna
- Akashdeep Sabir as Mr. Mehtani
- Sheeba Sabir as Mrs. Mehtani
- Yuvraj Vijjan as Tony Bhatia
- Dheer Hira as Chandan Kumar
- Jason Shah as Matthew
- Jesse Lim as a detective
- Pranav Brara as Anupam Anand, Satya and Ankur’s late father
- Akansha Ranjan Kapoor as a flight attendant
- Sikandar Kher
- Radhika Madan
- Abhimanyu Dassani
- Diljit Dosanjh (special appearance in the song “Chal Kudiye”)
Story of the film
A young woman named Satya has experienced more hardships than she can count. She sees her father kill himself while she is a little child, and keeps her younger brother Ankur from witnessing it. The siblings are placed under the care of wealthy, distant relatives after becoming orphans. As a house staff manager, Satya never loses sight of their responsibilities. She is aware of the family’s secrets and takes every precaution to keep them safe. She almost gets paranoid in her protectiveness of Ankur. Ankur develops into a knowledgeable, disciplined engineer. However, Satya lacks this hesitation, particularly when it comes to her brother.
The arrival of Kabir, the family’s kid, drastically alters their peaceful existence. He has a history of drug abuse and expulsions from many colleges. Ankur sees a friend in him and has faith in him, while Satya is very wary of him. Kabir’s father gladly offers to finance Ankur, who creates computer software, in the hopes that it may alter his son’s behavior. The guys are taken on a business trip to Hanshi Dao, a fictitious nation with harsh regulations. This is also causing a revolution in the nation. Its drug regulations are unforgiving, and possession carries the death penalty by electric shock. Kabir and Ankur work and party despite not knowing the law. Unbeknownst to Ankur, Kabir purchases narcotics during one such occasion. They are arrested for possession en route. Kabir had narcotics, but Ankur told his sister over the phone that he didn’t. Because of her previous interactions with her uncle, Satya is aware that he would stop at nothing to free his son, putting her brother at risk. Ankur is persuaded to spare his cousin’s life by a family lawyer who pretends that he was the one with the drugs. Conveniently, he conceals the information that Ankur will only be detained for three months before being released. He omits to mention that Ankur would be put to death for a crime he did not commit in three months.
When Satya finds out this, she is distraught. Satya is caught up in a complicated legal and social environment at Hanshi Dao. She is forced to break into the prison to save her brother. However, due to his commitment to following the rules, Ankur can turn Warden Hansraj Landa into an adversary. They had been preparing to use the sewage canal as an escape route.
Two unusual friends, Bhatia, a former mobster whose son is in a similar situation, and Muthu, an ex-policeman who really regrets his part in a prior erroneous conviction, are brought in by Satya. At first, Muthu opposes the proposal, but after Satya’s strong argument, he finally agrees. Interestingly, Ankur has gotten to know Muthu’s unfairly convicted prisoner Chandan as well as Bhatia’s son Tony…
Having served as a warden before his retirement, Muthu is familiar with the prison’s complex layout and helps to carefully organize the rescue operation. The plan will be executed on a day of the seashore festival, when it is said that no crimes are committed and the spirits come to life. Regretfully, the lads also plot their escape on the same day, without their knowledge. To gain admission to the hospital where they intend to flee, the guys contaminate their meals. In contrast, Satya’s group attempts to allocate them to culinary tasks. When Landa notices that the same three individuals are given two tasks, he starts to get suspicious. The lads are apprehended while attempting to flee after he thwarts their intentions. This causes their execution date to be moved forward earlier than planned.
Anxious, Satya chooses to interfere with the prison’s electrical system in an attempt to turn off the security system and allow all inmates to flee. Disagreeing, Muthu attempts to stop Satya, who then murders him. Turning off the electricity grid, however, is pointless because the prison’s generators continue to run. In an attempt to cause mayhem within the prison, Satya takes a more daring tack and uses explosives. A spectacular escape scenario, as inmates pour into the hallways during the power outage, is the culmination of the desperate scheme. Bhatia is murdered by a gunshot while fleeing.
Production
Casting
September 2023 saw the announcement of the movie. Vedang Raina and Alia Bhatt were chosen to play the key roles. Aditya Nanda and Sobhita Dhulipala joined the movie’s cast in November 2023.
The character Hans Landa from Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds served as a loose inspiration for Hansraj Landa. Actor Bijou Thaangjam claims that after being cast for a part by the film’s producers, he was abruptly fired, which he blamed on bigotry against people from northeast India.
Filming
By October 2023, principal photography had begun. Before ending in February 2024, the movie was primarily filmed in Singapore, Thailand, and Mumbai. These places were used to represent the movie’s fictitious Hanshi Dao, which is somewhat modeled after Singapore.
Music/Songs
Varun Grover wrote the lyrics for the movie’s soundtrack album, which was composed by Achint Thakkar and featured background scores. The film recreates the song “Phoolon Ka Taaro Ka,” which was originally written by R. D. Burman and performed by Kishore Kumar in the 1971 movie Haré Rama Haré Krishna. Vedang Raina sings it, while Burman and Anand Bakshi wrote the original lyrics, with Grover adding further lines.
On September 17, 2024, “Chal Kudiye”—the first single—was made available. On October 3, 2024, the second single, “Tenu Sang Rakhna,” was made available. The “Jigra Title Track” single, the third, was made available on October 7, 2024.
Release
Theatrical
The movie’s original release date of September 27, 2024, was rescheduled to October 11, 2024, in order to be closer to Vijayadashami. Actress Divya Khosla Kumar accused Jigra of plagiarism, claiming it was an unapproved adaptation of her film Savi, which had been released less than five months earlier.
Home media
Netflix started broadcasting the movie on December 6, 2024.
Review
Critics gave Jigra reviews that ranged from favorable to mediocre.
With an average rating of 5.5/10, 69% of the reviews from 16 critics are positive on the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes.
News18 reported that and awarded it a 4.5 out of 5. Jigra is a story with a lot of drama, but it never seemed theatrical at all. And both the director and his cast deserve praise for the same. Jigra is a must-watch because it is bold, innovative, sweet, spicy, and all the good things. Do not pass this up.
Filmfare noted that and awarded it a 4/5. Jigra promises to keep viewers on the edge of their seats as it explores the deep ties between justice, family, and the struggle against tyranny via its compelling narrative and outstanding performances. Watch it for Vedang and Alia’s spot-on performances, its powerful emotional core, and its realistic action sequences.
Alia Bhatt does Jigra justice, according to NDTV’s Saibal Chatterjee, who awarded it a 3/5. The question is whether Jigra captures the poised, subdued style she brings to the part. About. And by all accounts, it is no small accomplishment.
India Today’s Tushar Joshi called the movie “dull” and gave it a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars. He also said that Jigra might have been a far better movie if the plot had not been so linear.
Eshita Bhargava of Financial Express gave “Jigra” a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars, stating that its clumsy narrative was the main reason it did not spark the passion it was supposed to.
The Times of India’s Dhaval Roy rated it 2.5 out of 5 stars, stating that its disorganized plot and preference for style over content lessen its overall effect. A sharper idea and a more succinct storyline would have significantly improved this movie.
Jigra becomes a test of patience and credulity, according to Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express, who gave it a rating of two out of five stars.
The Statesman gave the movie a 2-star rating, pointing out that it finds it difficult to deviate from its traditional course. Because Alia Bhatt’s heroine is driven only by her desire to save her brother, the plot becomes formulaic, strained, and eventually uninteresting.
Box Office Collection
- India: 31.98 cr
- India Gross: 38.43 cr
- Worldwide: 56.93 cr
- Overseas: 18.5 cr
- Verdict: Disaster
References
- Team, S. (2024o, November 5). Jigra Box Office Collection | All Language | Day Wise | Worldwide. Sacnilk. https://www.sacnilk.com/news/Jigra_2024_Box_Office_Collection_Day_Wise_Worldwide
- Wikipedia contributors. (2025k, July 16). Jigra. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jigra
- Jigra (2024) ⭐ 6.0 | Action, crime, Drama. (2024, October 11). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26733317/
