Actor Vijay Deverakonda makes his pan India debut in Liger. (Photo: Instagram/thedeverakonda)Telugu star Vijay Deverakonda is all set for the release of his upcoming sports action film, Liger. The Puri Jagannadh directorial stars Ananya Panday as the female lead opposite Vijay. Both the actors have been promoting their film in several parts of the country before it releases on August 25. The onscreen couple was in New Delhi on Monday.
Here, speaking at a press conference, Vijay fielded questions on the ongoing social media trends that are asking for a boycott for his film. He also took questions on how he’d react if his film doesn’t succeed at the box office like other Hindi films in the recent past. Liger is releasing in Telugu and Hindi on the same day; the Hindi version of the film is backed by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.
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Speaking on whether the boycott trend will affect Liger, Vijay said, “Kaun rokega dekh lenge (we’ll see who can stop us),” adding that he’s expecting that people will like his film because they’ve poured in their sweat and blood to make Liger. He then shared how he has struggled and fought for things all his life.
When the actor was asked what he’d do if the film didn’t live up to the expectations at the box office, he said, “If you had asked me this question a few years ago, I would have gotten angry while responding. But, with the kind of love that I have received in the last few days, it would disrespect that love. I can’t react angrily anymore. I want to remember the love and give it back. My audience is important for me as we all work for them and we travel so many cities to meet them and win their love, I respect it.”
The Telugu star then got emotional while sharing what life has taught him and how it has been a struggle. He said, “If one thing life has taught me, it is to be a fighter. When I was younger I had to fight for money, and then for respect. Later on, I had to fight to make a place for myself in this industry and get work. Every film has been a tough fight for me. When I was doing my first film, we could not find a producer to back it, so I ended up doing the film for free and we had to raise money to cover production cost. I was nobody in the industry at that point. With my third film Arjun Reddy facing backlash, where people protested its release even before the film came out in theatres, but it turned out to be a box office superhit and now people know me because of that film.”
Liger, also starring Ramya Krishnan and Mike Tyson is scheduled to release on August 25.
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