Bollywood filmmaker-actor Divya Khossla has claimed that most box office numbers in the Hindi film industry are artificially inflated through corporate bookings, suggesting the “real” audience attendance
often falls far short of what is publicly reported. In a recent Ask-Me-Anything session on Reddit, she described the situation as “sad” and called out what she sees as systemic malpractice.
When asked about her stance during the controversy surrounding her 2024 release Jigra, Divya responded pointedly: “I am not here to be the boss. There are certain things I have seen — the malpractices happening in the industry. I think whatever position I have created for myself, I should use that platform to speak about something that is truly wrong and happening right in front of my eyes. Because then where does merit stand? Shouldn’t it be on merit?”
Corporate bookings ruining Bollywood? Divya spills the truth
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She added: “You do corporate bookings, you buy awards and indulge in all of this because you have power and money. So what about people who have none of these? Where does merit stand then? I think it’s not just with Jigra — corporate bookings are happening today in Bollywood with 90% of films. Whatever numbers are being declared shock me because the actual figures are nowhere close, and I think everyone in the industry and the audience knows this. It is very sad.”
Divya urged the industry to unite and address these issues, but she expressed pessimism: in her view, Bollywood remains too fractured to mobilize meaningful change.
The 2024 dispute around Jigra had centred on accusations that actor Alia Bhatt inflated box office returns — an allegation Divya amplified by posting a photograph of an empty theatre after a show and commenting: “Went to Citi Mall PVR for the Jigra show. Theatre was totally empty… all theatres are empty everywhere. #Aliabhatt truly has a lot of #Jigra… bought her own tickets and announced fake collections. Wonder why paid media is silent. #WeShouldNotFoolTheAudience.” While Alia did not respond, filmmaker Karan Johar appeared to weigh in with a veiled remark: “Silence is the best answer you’ll ever give to fools.” Divya followed up with a firm statement: “Truth will always offend the fools opposed to it.”
By the end of its theatrical run, Jigra reportedly grossed ₹56.93 crore against a production budget of ₹80 crore, a result often described as the weakest opening for an Alia Bhatt film since 2014.
Meanwhile, Divya’s most recent film, Ek Chatur Naar, starring Neil Nitin Mukesh, opened to lukewarm reviews and is currently available for streaming on Netflix.
