Exclusive! Vijay Deverakonda: I am happy Karthikeya 2 is doing well; one doesn't need to fail for another to succeed

Vijay Deverakonda likes to talk like "Vijay Deverakonda and not an actor", he clarified during a press conference with the media in New Delhi for Liger. And he did stick to it!

The Arjun Reddy star, who has been on a multi-city fan tour for his first Hindi-language sports drama, talked to us about the surprise success of Telugu film Karthikeya 2 starring fellow Telugu actor Nikhil Siddhartha, and what the film's success means to him and all of Indian film industry. 

"I am really happy that it's doing well. I genuinely feel happy when movies do well because it means a lot to the actor and to the team because there's a lot on the line. I know this because I have played all the roles within the film industry: I was an Assistant Director, I have worked in the costume department, played smaller roles, then became an actor and now I do production (work). I also run my own theatre. So, I know the inner functionings and the cycle that the film industry follows. Mujhe pata hain kitne logoka lives, kita paisa aur kitna stress deta hain ek film (I know how many people put their money in a film and how much, and also the stress that comes along with that)," he told OTTplay.

Vijay, who has faced backlash during the course of this promotional tour for supporting Aamir Khan and his film Laal Singh Chaddha, among others, shared with us how the bad business of films had forced him to pay his employees from his own pocket.

"... So, whenever a movie does well, I genuinely feel happy for the film and those involved. Because I know how much the failure of a film can affect so many people involved. And these are not even people directly involved; as in they are not the 'main' people of a film. When a film doesn't work, theatres incurr heavy losses and people have to pay from their own pockets. A film theatre also has staff members and it has canteens and what not. I mean I have so many employees in my theatre and there are so many bills to pay. If a movie doesn't work even for a week, I literally pay from my pocket. That's why so many theatres shut during Covid-19. Theatres were not opening or opening only with 50 percent capacity. So many people fell out of work," he went on to explain. 

Vijay Deverakonda, who, when asked about the boycott on Aamir Khan's Laal Singh Chaddha earlier this month, had said that people are not only affecting Aamir Khan by boycotting his film but also thousands of people attached to the project, now told us that he is happy to see that Karthikeya 2 is doing well. 

Additonally, he expressed his thoughts on success: that one doesn't need to fail for the other to flourish. 

"I know when a film works, the whole economy flourishes. That is something I celebrate aur mujhe lagta hain ki hum... I mean we should begin to enjoy the success of each other. Jiska bhi ho (success), hume milke enjoy karna chahiye. We are all from the same country, all with big dreams and wanting to become someone. Somebody doesn't need to fail for us to succeed. We can all succeed together. One year has so many Fridays, and if we have at least one hit every Friday then it is good for all. Yeah (chuckles!)" concluded the star. 

For the unversed, Liger is a sports drama starring Vijay Deverakonda, Ananya Panday, Ramya Krishna and has an extended cameo by American sporting legend Mike Tyson. 

Co-produced by Dharma Productions and Charmme kaur, Liger releases in theatres on August 25, 2022, in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages.