Liger

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Liger, released in full as Liger – Saala Crossbreed, is a 2022 Indian sports masala film written and directed by Puri Jagannadh and produced by Dharma Productions and Puri Connects. Shot simultaneously in Telugu and Hindi, it stars Vijay Deverakonda as a mixed martial arts fighter with a stammer, with Ananya Panday, Ramya Krishna, Ronit Roy and the American boxer Mike Tyson. It was Deverakonda’s Hindi debut and Panday’s Telugu debut. The film was panned by critics and failed at the box office.

Premise

After his father dies, Sashwath Agarwal, nicknamed Liger (a play on “lion” and “tiger”), moves from Karimnagar to Mumbai with his mother, Balamani, who is determined to make him an MMA champion. She enrols him with a coach, and his training begins in earnest. Along the way he falls for a wealthy young woman, but his stammer and the demands of the sport complicate the relationship. The film follows his rise through national and international competition; the outcome of his final fight is not described here.

Cast

• Vijay Deverakonda in a dual role as father and son, including the title character, Liger
• Ananya Panday as his love interest
• Ramya Krishna and Ronit Roy in important roles
• Mike Tyson as the main antagonist, in his first role in Indian cinema

Pre-production

The film was announced in 2019, and its title was revealed in January 2021. To play the fighter, Deverakonda went through a major physical transformation and trained in martial arts in Thailand. Janhvi Kapoor was offered the female lead but turned it down because of scheduling problems, and Ananya Panday was cast instead. Mike Tyson joined the cast in September 2021.

Filming

Shooting began in Mumbai on 20 January 2020 under the working title Fighter. After 40 days of filming, the COVID-19 pandemic halted production in March 2020. Work resumed in February 2021 with a schedule in Hyderabad, only to stop again during the second wave in April 2021. The crew returned in September 2021, travelled to Las Vegas in November 2021 to film Tyson’s scenes, and completed shooting in February 2022.

Music

The songs were composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Sunil Kashyap, Jaani, DJ Chetas, Lijo George and Vikram Montrose, and Mani Sharma composed the background score. Sony Music India acquired the music rights. The singles, released between May and August 2022, included “Akdi Pakdi” and “Waat Laga Denge”, the latter sung by Deverakonda himself.

Release

An original release date of 9 September 2021 was abandoned because of pandemic delays. Liger finally reached cinemas on 25 August 2022 in Hindi and Telugu, with dubbed versions in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. According to the source, its worldwide theatrical rights were valued at ₹81 crore, the highest for any Deverakonda film. It began streaming on Disney+ Hotstar on 22 September 2022, with the Hindi version following on 21 October 2022.

Reception and box office

Reviews were overwhelmingly negative. Critics found the story convoluted and unfocused, and Panday’s performance drew particular criticism. According to the source, the film grossed an estimated ₹60.80 crore against a budget of ₹125 crore, making it a box-office bomb.

Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.