Liger review: This Puri Jagannadh, Vijay Deverakonda cross-breed does not quite roar

Putting an end to the long wait, Puri Jagannadh’s Liger – Saala Crossbreed has released on 25 August amid much fanfare and hype. It casts Vijay Deverakonda, Ananya Pandey, Ramya Krishnan and Ronit Roy in the lead roles.

Shot simultaneously in Telugu and Hindi for nearly two years — and dubbed into Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam — Liger marks the Bollywood debut of Deverakonda and features American boxing sensation Mike Tyson in an extended cameo.

Made with a budget of around ₹125 crore, the makers have left no stone unturned in promoting the movie across India in the last 40 days.

The film has witnessed massive advance bookings in all languages and has been released in over 3,000 theatres worldwide, as per industry business tracker T2BLive. Its US premiers have already crossed a record $300,000 in advance bookings.

The movie has caught the attention of the world also for the fact that Deverakonda is playing a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter with a stutter. He underwent rigorous training in MMA in Thailand and transformed into a fighter.

Let’s get into the story

The film starts in the boxing ring of the MMA Championship and it’s Liger’s turn to enter the ring.

In the next scene, Liger (Deverakonda) is seen chasing goons who try to kidnap Taniya (Ananya Pandey).

“God creates beautiful dolls only to ruin the lives of boys and this is one such doll. I hate her, but I have to save her,” Liger is heard introspecting.

Was it a justification for his impromptu action or just a reason to convince himself and the audience, since he’s expected and obliged to do so, being the mighty hero? Well, let’s move on.

Soon after, the story shifts to Mumbai where Liger and his mom Balamani (Ramya Krishna) are shown struggling hard to make a decent living in the metropolitan city.

Here, they meet Christopher master (Ronit Roy) who agrees to train Liger in MMA. Hailing from an economically poor family, Liger needs to crack the championship. But Taniya’s presence complicates his life in an unimaginable way.

The game becomes all about personal revenge when he is put up against Taniya’s brother Sanju (Vish) in the MMA ring.

Did Liger manage to crack the championship? Did he realise his mom’s dream? Since he’s the protagonist, these questions must always be answered with a resounding “Yes”.

Deverakonda & Ramya Krishnan blow you away

Liger received all the hype just because of Deverakonda and his attitude, besides his approach towards the film. Well, his efforts seem to have paid off, as the audiences and fans get to see an entirely different Deverakonda this time.

His physical transformation into a boxer and as a youngster with a stutter is truly praise-worthy. He blows you away with his nuance and confidence. He effortlessly pulls off the role of Liger and keeps you glued to the seats with his charismatic on-screen presence.

Ramya Krishnan, however, is the real hero. She’ll remind you of “Sivagaami” (her role in Baahubali) once again. She plays the character of Liger’s mother who gives her all to encourage, support and do everything possible to turn her son into a champion.

Ramya Krishnan was undoubtedly the perfect choice for the role. For, her versatility as an actor makes her the best part of the movie.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing much to talk about Ananya Pandey, though she gets an introduction song and not the hero! She is reduced to a glamour doll, but also the one who brings twists and turns in Liger’s life.

Mike Tyson gets the best introduction shot and he is the main attraction in Liger. Ronit Roy, Vishnu Reddy and other actors did a good job in their respective roles.

We are all smiling but,
lopala pack aitundi!

But I believe today#WaatLagaDenge pic.twitter.com/QvzELJMsZ5

— Vijay Deverakonda (@TheDeverakonda) August 24, 2022

Puri Jagannadh-mark missing

It’s been three years since Puri Jagannadh’s helmed a film. He took his own sweet time coming up with a film like Liger and, yet, it doesn’t quite carry his mark.

On a positive note, Puri is known for his witty and sarcastic dialogues, and punchlines. In Liger too, the dialogues will hit you hard and remain close to reality.

Every youngster who dreams of making it big in life can easily connect to the conversations, characters, and circumstances. Production values, camera, and background music are bang on.

However, the movie has its drawbacks and red flags too. For one, the songs are a total waste of time.

The first half of the film is truly engaging. But in the second half, where Liger has to prove himself to the world, things go utterly wrong.

Tyson doesn’t deserve the character he plays and is such an insult on screen. The poorly conceived climax is a huge disappointment.

It is time to watch #liger all alone in the biggest theatre. What a terrific opening. @karanjohar Bhai Aapki Toh life Ban Gayee!? pic.twitter.com/yCDCDWYf84

— Kamal Rashid Kumar (@kamaalrkhan) August 25, 2022

Liger isn’t a 100% Telugu film

What’s really annoying is that, except for Vijay and Ramya Krishnan, nobody else in the film utters a dialogue in Telugu. Even Ali does not have many Telugu dialogues!

You feel like the film has been shot in Hindi and dubbed in Telugu. This, even though the cast and crew kept reiterating during the promotions that Liger is a 100-percent Telugu film.

A Telugu film with Bollywood actors and dubbed dialogues is definitely not a delight to watch!

Liger makes it clear that Deverakonda wants to be a pan-India star. It has been shot extensively in Mumbai and it is evident that the makers are trying to make the best of the market in north India.

But for Telugu audiences, it really doesn’t work. Perhaps the filmmakers forgot that Telugu films these days are making it big worldwide, even without huge promotions.

Verdict: This film is worth watching this weekend only for Deverakonda’s transformation into an MMA fighter, Ramya Krishnan’s performance, and the power-packed stunts.