Not Vijay Deverakonda but THIS Telugu superstar was Puri Jagannadh's first choice for Liger

The big day has arrived as Liger (2022), starring Vijay Deverakonda opens in theatres. Did you know that Vijay Deverakonda is not the director Puri Jagannadh's first choice for the role of Liger? Yes, Puri originally intended to team up with Mahesh Babu to produce the film and recapture the success of Pokiri. But for some reason, nothing came together.

There are reports that Puri Jagannadh and Mahesh Babu had intended to do Liger together in 2016, but that idea fell through due to certain creative disagreements. The same can be stated for his upcoming film Jana Gana Mana, which also stars Vijay Deverakonda. Although initially given to Mahesh, both ended up going to Vijay.

Mahesh and Puri Jagannadh's romantic action thriller Pokiri, one of Tollywood's biggest hits of 2006, changed the course of each of their individual careers. Later, the actor-director team worked together once more on the 2012 action-crime film Business Man, which likewise became a box office smash.

Liger underperformed at the box office despite having a lot of hype and anticipation. Audiences have deemed it a failure due to the film's terrible acting, music, and plot.

Vijay Deverakonda portrays a Kickboxer with a speech stutter in Puri Jagannadh's film. In Liger, Ananya Panday plays the female lead, and Ramya Krishnan and Ronit Roy also play significant roles.