Vijay Deverakonda says 'Liger' nude poster was ‘completely his call’

Vijay Deverakonda is busy promoting his upcoming pan-India film 'Liger', co-starring Ananya Panday. Recently, in an interview with news agency PTI, the actor opened up about the film's poster in which he almost posed nude. When questioned if he's gald that the poster didn't land him in trouble in the way that Ranveer Singh found himself to be, Vijay said that he doesn' care if there is hullabaloo or no hullabaloo.

The 'Arjun Reddy' actor mentioned that some of his team members, including producer Karan Johar, were hesitant to unveil the poster because it is 'sensitive', but he was determined to go ahead with it.

'When the promotions were starting, I felt I wanted to start with this poster. So, I spoke to Karan and everyone, and they were like, ‘Are you sure? Because it is sensitive and people can react. The film is so good that you don’t need to put this out,’ Vijay told PTI.

'But I was like, ‘If you don’t put it out, then I am putting it out. So, either you do it in the official capacity or I am putting it out on my page. I don’t care, it is my picture and I am putting it out.’ And they were like, ‘Fine, if you want to do it, let’s do it,' the actor added.

Vijay Deverakonda said that idea for the poster came from him and it was completely his call to pose nude. He said, 'I have a body, so show it.'

'When I was in fighting shape and we were doing the regular photoshoot for the poster of the movie, I went to my director and producer and said I want to shoot one shot where I am just holding a bunch of flowers because it is a love story. But this guy is a fighter,' he said.

He further mentioned that the culture of such photoshoots is not new as sportspersons and fighter have done semi-nude shoots for magazines as they are in incredible shape.

'I watch mixed martial arts a lot and I am a big fan of the sport and actively follow it. So, I know how these guys live their lives, how they behave and what they do and stuff. And a lot of these sports guys have done shoots like this. A lot of these fighters have done shoots for magazines because they are in incredible shape. They do the stuff just for the kick, I guess,' Deverakonda said.

'Liger', directed by Puri Jagannadh, is about an underdog fighter from Mumbai, who compete in an MMA champrionship. The film is scheduled to release on August 25.

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