Before the release of 'Liger', Vijay Deverakonda and his team promoted the film very well. However, it was not lived up to the mark because of poor narration and the predictable story.
A theatre owner in Mumbai opined that the movie will get good reviews and attract the audience to theatres. But he said that the unbearable comments made by Vijay Deverakonda as part of 'Liger' promotions did not go well with the audience, especially in the north, where the film did not get proper openings. He proclaimed that he has a bad attitude and his confidence was misread as arrogance. He also asked Vijay to learn from Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar, whose latest movies turned out to be debacles at the box office.
When asked about the 'Boycott trend', Vijay Deverakonda said, "Kaun rokenge dekh lenge. I feel that there is no room for fear, when I had nothing, I didn’t fear, and now after having achieved something, I don’t think there needs to be any fear even now. We have mother’s blessings, people’s love, God’s support, and a fire inside us, we will see who will stop us!."
During a recent interaction with BollywoodLife, the theatre owner said, "Why are you showing smartness by saying ‘Boycott our movie’? People won’t even watch on OTT. Such behaviour of yours has put us in trouble and impacted our advance bookings. Mr Vijay, you are anaconda not ‘Konda Konda’. You are talking like an anaconda. ‘Vinaash kaale vipareet buddhi’, when the time of destruction inches closer, the mind stops working, and you are doing that. Anyways, it’s your wish."
He further added that Vijay should have learnt his lesson from Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar and Taapsee Pannu. "Mr Vijay, it seems, you have become arrogant, ‘Watch the movie or if you don’t wish to, then don’t watch, haven’t you seen its impact? If the audience will not watch, see what Taapsee Pannu, Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar are going through. I had high expectations from the movie, but such statements during the interview had harsh impacts. One shouldn’t do this and never pay heed to hashtags," the theatre owner clarified.
Ananya Panday's candid stills from 'Liger'