Vijay Deverakonda's 'Liger' landing on OTT on THIS date?
Vijay Deverakonda-led Liger might arrive on OTT platforms sooner than anticipated. With its below-average performance at the box office and overall negative reviews, the film is making the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Now, reports suggest that Disney+ Hotstar has bagged its streaming rights and the film will debut digitally on September 30. However, it is not official yet.
Why does this story matter?
The Telugu version of Liger, premiering on August 25, broke the success streak of Tollywood films released this month. Bimbisara started the success streak in August and the torch was passed to Sita Ramam and then the underdog Karthikeya 2. A lot was riding on Liger, as Deverakonda made his Bollywood debut with this. Its early OTT arrival might be because of its underperformance.
How is 'Liger' performing at the box office?
For reasons unknown, Liger's Hindi version was released a day after its Telugu premiere. By the end of its four-day theatrical run, the mega-budgeter has not even touched the Rs. 50cr mark and has merely made Rs. 43cr, even after its opening weekend. So, it would be a smart decision if the makers go on to give it an OTT debut sooner.
Calls were made to boycott 'Liger'
Liger's failure can be partially attributed to the calls online to boycott the film and the "cancel culture." While the film's pre-release buzz was strong to woo crowds, a song titled Aafat drew flak for carrying objectionable lyrics that normalized rape. Apart from this, Karan Johar's (a frequent target of #BoycottBollywood trend) association was also frowned upon. The makers didn't act upon the backlash.
Ananya Panday made her Tollywood entry with 'Liger'
While Deverakonda made his Bollywood debut with Liger, its leading lady Ananya Panday made her Telugu debut. The Telugu-Hindi bilingual sports drama was dubbed and released in other languages including Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada. Ramya Krishnan and boxing legend Mike Tyson played important roles in the film directed by Puri Jagannadh. Johar, Charmme Kaur, and Jagannadh co-produced the project.
