Bollywood filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt, who produced Savi, recently claimed in an interview that Divya Khosla Kumar had engineered the Savi vs Jigra controversy as a publicity stunt. In a dramatic turn of events, Divya has now released a phone call recording in which she confronts the filmmaker, and Mukesh appears to take a complete U-turn on his earlier statement.

Divya Khosla Kumar confronts Mukesh Bhatt

On Thursday, Divya took to Instagram to share the recording of her conversation with Mukesh. In it, she directly asks him whether he had spoken against her and accused her of creating the controversy for publicity. Mukesh firmly denies the allegations, saying, “Na mereko kisi ne pucha, na maine kisi ko bola (Neither someone asked me nor did I say it to anyone). This is again created by people who’ve got vested interests.”

Divya revealed she was particularly upset because the negative reports surfaced on her birthday. Mukesh reassured her that he had said nothing against her and added, “Beta, this is all planned. The fact that this happened on your birthday means somebody wants to hurt you and has intentionally planned this. First of all, I didn’t know it was your birthday. Aur main aise harkat nahi karta; by now you know me, beta.”

The filmmaker further hinted that the backlash may have come from the “other camp”, urging Divya to “rise above it”, telling her she has “a good year planned ahead”.

Sharing the recording, Divya wrote, “I am deeply shocked by this revelation. What I have recently discovered is disturbing and heartbreaking. With a heavy heart, I feel it is important to open this truth to the public, especially for all those artists and fans who have suffered under hierarchy, lobbying, and gatekeeping in our film industry.”

She continued, “Unfortunately, I am left with no choice but to put out the telephonic conversation between Mr Mukesh Bhatt and me so people can hear for themselves how certain groups attempt to sabotage careers and push genuine talent out. This behaviour is unacceptable and cannot be normalised. It is time we speak up. It is time we call out the industry mafia. I will raise my voice, and I will fight this out.”

What Mukesh Bhatt had said earlier

Divya had earlier alleged that the makers of Jigra had lifted the plot of Savi. In a recent interview with Lehren Retro, Mukesh Bhatt dismissed her claims, saying, “What Divya did for publicity, I don’t know about that. To get some attention in the media, you can create some controversy. Everyone needs publicity, and for publicity, you need some controversy.”

He also defended Alia Bhatt, stating that she is a major star who does not need to steal ideas. Praising her as grounded and intelligent, he added, “Usko yeh chichori harkat karne ki zarurat nahi hai (She doesn’t need to do something this cheap).”

All about the Jigra vs Savi controversy

In 2024, Divya accused the makers of Jigra of copying her film Savi, pointing out similarities in the jailbreak concept. She also claimed that Jigra’s box-office numbers were inflated, posting an image of an empty cinema hall and suggesting that tickets were being bought in bulk to project boosted collections.