Vijay Deverakonda on Liger boycott call: Thoda drama hona chahiye

Vijay Deverakonda sure knows how to melt hearts, in a heart beat. 

The Liger actor, who is making his big Bollywood debut with this sports drama, impressed everyone with his Hindi-speaking skills during the New Delhi-leg of his fan tour for the movie. 

On Monday, both Vijay and his co-star Ananya Panday were in the capital city to promote their much-hyped film Liger. 

And when the rowdy star, as he is lovingly called by his fans, was asked if the boycott call on his film is going to affect its business, he shared that he is going to "see" whatever comes his way. 

"That I don't know (referring to affecting Liger's box office numbers)... Personally, I can only talk about myself and my life experiences. And I only talk about what I see, and not anything else. My personal thought is that if life has taught me something, then it is to fight. While I was growing up, I had to fight for money, respect, I had to fight for my place in this world, kaam ke liye ladna pada (hgad to fight for work). In fact, I had to fight for all my films so far," he told the reporter, before adding that as far as his films go, he had to struggle for them to be made and then released as well.

"For my first film, we were not getting producers and so we raised money and all of us actors acted for free. Then we got people's love and that movie went on to become a hit... When my thirs film Arjun Reddy was being shot, some (outfits) took to the streets, as in parties and unions, saying that the film should be stopped from being made. I had to fight then as well for the film to be released. People showered their love on me when the film finally released. It became a huge hit and all of you started following my work because of Arjun Reddy..." added the star, who spoke about his struggling days, while adding that he likes to speak his mind and doesn't know how to "talk like a star". 

Talking about the boycott call on his film Liger on social media that was triggered after he had extended his support to Aamir Khan and his latest release Laal Singh Chaddha, Vijay said that "some drama" should happen as he is going national with Liger. 

"... Aur ab India ke liye bana rahaan hoon picture, thoda bohot drama hona hi chahiye (And now I am making a movie for all of India, some drama should take place). Ladenge (will fight it)... I have worked with all my heart on Liger, I did everything that was humanly possible from my end as an actor," he elaborated. 

Vijay Deverakonda, who does not come from a filmy background, said during the course of his interview that he is "Vijay Deverakonda first" and an actor later. 

"I think I talk less like an actor and more like Vijay Deverakonda because I have been an actor for five-six years now, but for 25 years I was this kid who wanted to grow up and become someone in life. Actor ki tarah kaise baat karna hai mujhe maalum nahin hain (I don't know how to talk like an anctor). I say what comes to my mind, if people like it then it's good otherwise we will talk about it. So, I said what I felt like saying and am not scared of anything because there is nothing to be scared of... So, these are my thoughts that I have my mother's blessings, people's love, God's watching over me and I got fire within, too. Kaun rokenge dekhlenge (We will see who tries to stop me)," concluded Vijay amid thunderous applause from the media.

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.