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Samantha Ruth Prabhu praises Alia Bhatt amid 'Jigra' criticism

The ‘Theri’ actress called Alia a 'tigress' and praised director Vasan Bala for his empowering portrayal of the female lead in 'Jigra'

Tamil and Telugu actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu expressed her admiration for Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt following accusations that she had faked the box office numbers for Jigra.

Samantha took to Instagram to applaud the film, calling it "unique" and hailed Alia, calling her a “tigress”.

“A performance so feisty and throbbing with life that I couldn't take my eyes off you! The brave choices you make... the standards you set for yourself. Keep inspiring!” the Kushi actress wrote.

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She went on to praise Alia’s co-star, Vedang Raina, calling him “a talent” and highlighting his gripping performance in the film’s “lashings scene”, which she described as "visceral".

She also applauded the director, Vasan Bala, and thanked him for his representation of the female lead.

Alia and Samantha, who are close friends, were spotted together recently at a pre-release event in Hyderabad for Jigra.

The film has been performing poorly at the box office, earning Rs 17.2 crore worldwide against a budget of Rs 90 crore.

Jigra controversy

Actress Divya Khosla Kumar shamed Alia online and accused the Student of the Year actress of faking box office collection numbers. Divya shared an image of an empty theatre for a Jigra showing, adding the hashtag “#weshdnotfooltheaudience”.

Karan Johar, who was one of the producers, responded to the story with a quote on his Instagram story: “Silence is the best speech you will ever give to fools.”

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE | Vasan Bala spills beans on why he teamed up with Karan Johar for 'Jigra'

Johar also announced that they will be putting an end to pre-release screenings for all of the production house’s upcoming films, after critics started demanding Rs 15,000 to Rs 60,000 per promotional tweet.