‘Vijay Deverakonda you have become arrogant’, says Mumbai theatre owner; blames Liger star for impacting bookings

Before the release of his film Liger , actor Vijay Deverakonda came out in support of Aamir Khan and his latest movie Laal Singh Chaddha, which had fallen prey to the boycott trend on social media. The South star, who has made his Bollywood debut with the sports drama, explained that boycotting a film does not affect just actors but also the many other workers who gave their sweat and blood to create the project. Soon after, Vijay received backlash for his opinion and many trolls began trending #BoycottLiger. Well, the film saw a dismal opening when it released on 25th August, and some are now blaming it on Vijay.

Executive Director of Gaiety Galaxy and Maratha Mandir Cinema Manoj Desai, for instance, slammed the actor in a viral video. Bollywood Life quoted him saying, “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 impacting 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 stated, “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.” Manoj added that he had high expectations from Liger but feels that Vijay’s statement resulted in harsh impacts.

Meanwhile, Liger as well as Vijay and Ananya Panday’s performances have received mixed reviews not just from critics but even from the audience.