In 2022, upon the release of “Gangubai Kathiawadi,” Anurag Kashyap a close friend and collaborator of director Vasan Bala noted that Alia Bhatt is the new Bacchan. Bala, who we all know is fascinated by pop culture and how it shapes the narrative of the present, past, and future of cinema itself, must have taken the comment quite literally. With “Jigra,” his third directorial venture (fourth if you consider the unreleased “Peddlers“) Bala has a bigger budget and even greater star power in his kitty.

The usually dependable Alia Bhatt stars as Satya, an orphan who had made herself into such a rock-solid young woman that her meditative gaze can get any shit done. Early on in her life, she witnessed the tragic suicide of her father when she and her younger sibling Ankur (later played by Vedang Raina) returned from school one day. It’s obvious that ever since that day,...