Makers of ‘Liger’ delay teaser release of Vijay Deverakonda’s Bollywood debut citing COVID-19 surge

The makers of ‘Liger’ have called off the teaser release of the upcoming Bollywood film, which was scheduled to drop today, in light of the second wave in India that has witness a surge in coronavirus cases in the country.

The movie marks the Bollywood debut of South Indian star Vijay Deverakonda of ‘Arjun Reddy’ fame, who is paired opposite Ananya Panday in the Puri Jagannadh directorial, which is being produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions and Charmme Kaur.

In a statement shared on social media, the producers called off the teaser release, while advocating COVID-19 safety protocols.

“We were all geared up to reveal a power packed teaser for Liger on 9th May. However, due to the current scenario and environment that our country is facing, we have decided to postpone the same in the hope to share it with the world at a better time for us all. Having said that, we assure and guarantee that you will witness Vijay Deverakonda in a never seen before avatar and you will not be disappointed,” the statement read on Dharma’s Instagram account.

Charmee Kaur, the co-producer of the film shared the same and wrote: “In light of the current environment and testing times our country is facing, our focus is solely on helping the community. Therefore, we have decided to postpone the release of the teaser of #LIGER. We hope you’re staying safe, staying healthy and staying home. Thank you for all your support!”

The sports action film has a worldwide theatrical release scheduled for September 9 but that is likely to change in light of the surge in COVID-19 cases in India that has crossed a death toll of 200,000. The movie is to be released in five languages — Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam.

The film also stars Ramya Krishnan, Ronit Roy, Vishu Reddy, among others.

Panday, who had started her career with Johar’s ‘Student of the Year 2’, was last seen in ‘Khaali Peeli’ opposite Ishaan Khatter. Apart from ‘Liger’, Panday will also be seen in Shakun Batra’s next directorial, alongside Deepika Padukone and Siddhant Chaturvedi.