Ram Gopal Varma compares Vijay Deverakonda’s ‘aggressive nature’ to Prabhas: ‘BoycottLiger is because of Karan Johar’

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma believes Vijay Deverakonda’s provocative statements caused the debacle of Liger. The film marked Vijay’s official entry in Bollywood and was met with boycott trends during promotions. Commenting about Liger’s failure at the box office, RGV compared Vijay with Prabhas, Ram Charan and Jr NTR. Also read: Ram Gopal Varma asks if ‘north stars are insecure, jealous of south stars’

Ahead of Liger’s release, Ram Gopal Varma was among the celebrities who praised Vijay’s film Liger. He had tweeted, “Saw scenes of @KaranJohar presented #PuriJagan directed and @Charmmeofficial produced LIGER ..More than a CROSS between TIGER and LION @TheDeverakonda looks like a SUPER CROSS between @pawankalyan @urstrulyMahesh @RaviTeja_offl and @iTIGERSHROFF”.

In a recent interview, Ram Gopal Varma said that the audience responded negatively to Karan Johar who backed the film after Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. “Vijay is naturally aggressive on stage. He has attention-grabbing antics. But the fundamental reason why there was a boycott Liger movement in Bollywood is because of Karan Johar who is associated with the project. Ever since Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise, it has become common for Bollywood folk to boycott Karan’s films,” he told TV5 Tollywood.

During the film promotions, Vijay Deverakonda tackled criticism and calls for a boycott openly against his film. Speaking about the same, Vijay told ANI, “We’ve put our heart into making this film. And I believe that I am correct. I feel that there is no room for fear, when I had nothing, I didn’t fear, and now after having achieved something, I don’t think there needs to be any fear even now. Maa ka aashirwaad hai, logon ka pyaar hai, bhagwaan ka haath hai, andar aag hai, kaun rokenge dekh lenge (We have mother’s blessings, people’s love, God’s support, a fire inside us, we will see who will stop us)!”

Referring to Vijay’s comment, RGV added, “Another factor here is humility. The Hindi folk were mesmerised by Jr NTR, Ram Charan and Prabhas. The down-to-earth nature of these stars impressed the Hindi audience. They were amazed to see the humility of the South stars after seeing the arrogance of Bollywood stars all along. Then Vijay came along with his natural aggressive speeches at Liger events and that also triggered them. Liger gave enough material for the boycott movement.” Earlier it was Manoj Desai, the executive director of Gaiety Galaxy and Maratha Mandir Cinema, who called Vijay arrogant for his strong words.