Even though Vijay Deverakonda’s first Hindi project was announced last year, I became familiar with him in the year 2019 after the Hindi remake of his Telugu hit Arjun Reddy, the Shahid Kapoor-starrer Kabir Singh, became a blockbuster. The remake not only did wonders for its leading man Shahid, but also for Vijay who thereafter became a constant in the Hindi film social scene. I followed his previous as well as current work after that and fell in love with him more and more. So, naturally when it was announced that Vijay was making his Bollywood debut opposite Ananya Panday in the multilingual actioner, Liger, I was excited, and the first glimpse of the film that released today, has just doubled up that excitement.
Check out the first glimpse here:
The team of Liger had been building up to the reveal of the first glimpse of Vijay in the film this New Year’s Eve, and I have to say that it has lived up to all the hype. Vijay seems to have immersed himself completely in the character of a tea vendor from the streets of Mumbai, who becomes a renowned MMA fighter representing India. The first glimpse shows his journey in brief and Vijay seems like a natural in his role. The MMA action suits him so well, and the glimpse of Ronit Roy as his coach also builds up the curiosity. The two dialogues that Vijay says in this teaser have such an authenticity to it that it feels like the actor has always belonged to the city.
While Ananya’s look and the much-awaited appearance of Mike Tyson has not yet been revealed in Liger, the film is building up to be one of the biggest events of 2022. The film also features Ramya Krishnan in a pivotal role and is helmed by Puri Jagannadh. Liger is produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions and will release in five languages—Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada—on August 25, 2022 in theatres.
I must admit that this first tease of the film has made my New Year’s Eve more special, as I will now enter 2022 with a rejuvenated curiosity and excitement for Liger. Vijay is a terrific actor and I cannot wait for him to make his place in the Hindi film industry as well.