Vijay Deverakonda has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the Telugu industry ever since Arjun Reddy (2017) became a rage. Now, as he is set to foray into Hindi cinema with Liger, the responsibility of being a pan-India hero isn’t lost on him. “I wanted to be ready for a stage like this. You are telling the story to an entire country. Love from people that cuts across barriers of language, age and gender has to be reciprocated with care. I needed to feel settled as an artiste to take that leap of faith,” starts Deverakonda, who is joined by Ananya Panday in the actioner. The move, he agrees, comes with benefits and risks. “Hindi is the most spoken language in the country. So when you make a Hindi film, you get access to a huge audience. Trying a pan-India film is a risk I wanted to take [at this stage].”

(From left) The actor in Arjun Reddy and Liger