Vasan Bala, the director of ‘Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota’ (2018) and ‘Monica, O My Darling’ (2022), opened up to THE WEEK about what made him work under Karan Johar's Dharma Productions for the upcoming Alia Bhatt-starrer 'Jigra'.
READ FULL STORY: How Bollywood's Big Daddy Karan Johar built his empire
Bala told the magazine, “I was neither inspired or begrudged by Johar’s films, as we are different types of storytellers. Somen (Mishra) asked me to meet Karan and when I did, it was refreshing to see someone who didn’t come with an approach that he’s a big producer and I could either take his script or leave it. He asked me what I liked to make. I was convinced this would be an equal creative collaboration, he’s backed me and he’s letting me run with it.”
Bala added this trait of Johar has allowed him to have such a long career, and one that’s still evolving.
ALSO READ: 'They gave shape to my childhood dream': Alia Bhatt on being a Dharma debutante
'Jigra', co-produced by Alia and Johar, is set to release on September 27, 2024.
In September 2023, Alia posted, “From debuting in a Dharma production (sic) to now producing a film with them, in many ways, it feels like coming full circle from where I started. Every day is a different day…exciting, challenging (and a little scary)… not just as an actor but also as a producer as we bring this film to life, and I CANNOT wait to share more as we move forward. JIGRA - in cinemas on 27th September 2024.”