Vijay Deverakonda's Liger fails to strike the right chords with audiences

Vijay Deverakonda’s first film in Hindi, Liger, appears to have hit the wrong notes with viewers, according to reports after the opening day of the film. Criticism poured in from all corners over its lousy storyline that has impacted the bottomline in box office too.

Liger was much hyped as Deverakonda’s entry into Bollywood and was widely promoted across India by the actor and his co-star Ananya Panday.

Directed by Puri Jagannadh, the film is a sports-action drama about a stuttering young man who fights all odds to become a mixed martial arts (MMA) champion. His mother Balamani, played by Ramya Krishnan, calls herself a tigress and his late dad a lion, and so the son is named Liger. The film traces the challenges faced by Liger in achieving his dream of becoming a MMA champion, fighting legend Mark Henderson (Mike Tyson) in the climax.

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However, viewers roundly criticised the film for its failure to live up to the hype. Media reviewers and critics pointed out that the film was shifting from one scene to another in a mindless way. Moreover, some parts reeked of sexism and insensitivity towards speech impairment.

Many praised the performances of Vijay Deverakonda and Ramya Krishnan but their feisty performances failed to lift the movie. Many said Liger failed to evoke the right emotions as would have been expected from a sports drama, due to its overly dramatic and loud portrayal of a largely predictable film.

A viewer named Keerthana accused the makers of failing to tell a story properly and predicted the end of Puri’s golden days, on her Twitter account.

What do you do if it happens with a film, where you should be telling a story? Lately, you just shout ‘India’, and if your budget permits, you shout it in a different country. If there is still money left, you pay Mike Tyson to play himself but call him Mark Anderson.

— Keerthana. (@populapette) August 25, 2022

Tbh, Puri’s golden days are over. It's fine if his films are bad. But why take a star like VD and an actor like Ramya Krishna down with you? They are both so earnest in their performances, it breaks your heart to see them in a film that couldn’t care less. It's so wrong.

— Keerthana. (@populapette) August 25, 2022

“In the search of a pan-indian film they couldn’t even make a proper Telugu film. If films like RRR or Pushpa has taught us anything it is to own your roots. Do what you know, do it well, and admiration will follow. Can’t care less about Puri, but I hope VD could understand this only,”

This happened with Saho as well, but in the search of a pan-indian film they couldn't even make a proper Telugu film. Most of them are clearly speaking in Hindi, even VD in a few scenes.

— Keerthana. (@populapette) August 25, 2022

If films like RRR or Pushpa has taught us anything it is to own your roots. Do what you know, do it well, and admiration will follow. Can't care less about Puri, but I hope VD could understand this only.

— Keerthana. (@populapette) August 25, 2022

The film did not do too well in box office too, earning ₹19 crores in the domestic market on the first day, with a drop in occupancy happening fast. Shows were cancelled fast in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Overseas cinemas helped the film gross around ₹29 crore. By Sunday, the fate of the film would be known.