PremiumLiger producer recalls how challenging it was to bring the boxing legend Mike Tyson on board
Producer Charmme Kaur on casting Mike Tyson in the Vijay Deverakonda-starrer, Liger.
Last Updated: 05.23 PM, Aug 24, 2022
As the pan-India film Liger, starring Vijay Deverakonda and Ananya Panday, nears its release, producer Charmme Kaur revealed that casting the legendary boxer Mike Tyson, was a monumental task.
Not only that, but the negotiations came to a halt once during the two years of casting. "It took us two years to sign him on. In 2019, the discussion began with his legal and management teams. The Covid-19 pandemic emerged, eventually. After months of Zoom calls, we finally closed the deal," Charmme Kaur told Mid-Day.
She, further, added that India was in the red zone. Because of the uncertainty and strict social distancing rules, Tyson's team told her it was a "deal-breaker." But, Deverakonda, Jagannadh and Kaur didn't leave hope. As the situation improved and things started swinging back to normal after the first wave, Kaur resumed the conversation with Tyson's teams in late 2020.
"I again got hold of everyone. I made calls at 5 in the morning. This went on for a year, after which Mike Tyson said, 'Fine. Come to my backyard and shoot'. We created (a small) team and went to shoot in Las Vegas for a month," Kaur concluded.
The easiest part of the process was shooting with the legend. He is described as “a kid on the set” by the producer. “Tyson is content with his life. His wife, Kiki is incredible and was always on set with us. He values his family.”
She added, “He'd ask Puri sir if the shot was okay after each one and then would jump around in childlike delight whenever someone said it was amazing! Tyson loves Indian food and always wants to eat chicken tikka masala with garlic naan and gobhi. That became our standard order every day.”
Liger also features actors Ananya Pandey as the female lead, Ronit Roy as the coach, Vishu Reddy, Ali, Makarand Desh Pandey and Getup Srinu.
Liger, in association with Puri connects, is produced jointly by the Dharma Productions banner and will be released in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam on August 25.