Vijay Deverakonda reacts to ED questioning him for 12 hours over Liger funding: ‘With great popularity come challenges’

Actor Vijay Deverakonda was grilled by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over the funding of his last release Liger. This comes two weeks after filmmaker Puri Jagannadh and producer Charmee Kaur were also questioned about the funding for the film. Following reports that money used to fund the film came from a foreign source which is a clear violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) of 1999, ED summoned Vijay to know about the identity of the financiers. (Also Read | Vijay Deverakonda makes social media comeback after brief hiatus, talks about his ‘big dreams’)

Speaking to reporters after the meeting on Wednesday, Vijay said he went and met the officials because it was his duty. “With great popularity comes challenges and there’s nothing you can do about it. But I see this as an experience. I did my duty when they called. I went and answered their questions,” said Vijay.

Vijay confirmed he was questioned for 12 hours but didn’t say if he has been called again. Two weeks ago, the Liger filmmaker-producer duo was also grilled for close to 12 hours. “The ED officials wanted to know the name of the company or individuals who funded the movie. They strongly believe that the money used to fund the movie came from abroad. They’re investigating to check if any of this funding was in violation of FEMA,” a source had told Hindustan Times. Some reports claim that some politicians invested their black money to fund the movie.

Liger also starred Ananya Panday, Ramya Krishnan and Ronit Roy. It was promoted aggressively as a pan-Indian film, especially after Karan Johar came on board to release the Hindi version. However, the film opened to a largely middling response from the audiences with most calling the film ‘formulaic’ and ‘wasted opportunity’ for Vijay who spent three years on the project.

Vijay will also be seen in an upcoming romantic drama film Khusi alongside Samantha Ruth Prabhu. The film is all set to hit the theatres on December 23. Vijay debuted with the 2011 Telugu film Nuvvila. He shot to nationwide fame with the 2017 blockbuster Arjun Reddy.

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