When popularity is not enough: The rise and fall of Vijay Deverakonda

But a few questions are being asked — and demand answers — after the poor show his latest release Liger has put up at the box office.

Why is he failing to draw crowds to theatres despite being a “popular youth icon” known for his outspoken, arrogant and even egoistic nature? Does a huge nationwide following imply talent? Is he even a bankable star?

Well, let’s find out the answers to these questions.

The ‘Arjun Reddy’ mania

Vijay Deverakonda became an overnight sensation with Arjun Reddy. (TheDeverakonda/Facebook)

Tharun Bhascker’s Pelli Choopulu (2016) was Deverakonda’s first blockbuster hit. Until then, he was a small-time actor who was struggling to carve a niche for himself in the industry. He turned many heads with his cameo in Yevade Subramanyam (2015) though.

A romantic comedy, Pelli Choopulu won two National Film Awards, two Nandi Awards and two Filmfare Awards-South. In it, the actor played a lazy BTech graduate who aspires to be a chef and open his own restaurant, but decides to get married to a rich girl for the dowry.

That hit notwithstanding, Deverakonda became a sensation across India only with Arjun Reddy (2017). Indeed, it was this Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorial debut that turned him into a youth heartthrob.

In the movie, Deverakonda played the role of a love-struck, alcoholic surgeon with anger management issues. The film won laurels for its storytelling, unconventional plot, and characters. However, it received brickbats too, for glorifying substance and sexual abuse, misogyny and toxic masculinity.

After the release of Arjun Reddy, Indian youth went gaga over the actor for his looks and performance, while a good number of critics, actors and activists criticised him for his role.

Most of his works are BO duds

Vijay Deverakonda in Thums Up ad. (TheDeverakonda/Facebook)

The year 2018 proved a mixed bag for Deverakonda. In Nag Ashwin’s superhit film Mahanti, the actor played an extended cameo. This was followed by Parasuram’s Geetha Govindam (yet another blockbuster), Anand Shankar’s NOTA (a box office disaster), and Rahul Sankrityan’s Taxiwala (a decent hit).

In fact, NOTA had a pan-India release, as did Bharat Kamma’s Dear Comrade (2019), and Kranthi Madhav’s World Famous Lover (2020). Though the three movies were released in all south Indian languages, they ended up as box office disasters.

After a long hiatus of two years came Liger (August, 2022). This much-hyped film was also released worldwide in Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil. But the Puri Jagannadh directorial venture also missed the mark — big time.

According to industry tracker AndhraBoxOffice, Liger’s Return on Investment was less than 30 percent and it couldn’t even manage to collect the rent of theatres on Monday, 29 August. “Business is as good as closed,” read a tweet by AndhraBoxOffice.

Shot on a budget of ₹125-175 crore, Liger has managed a worldwide gross collection of just ₹45 crore since its release. Hence proving that every time Deverakonda looks for a pan-India release, he delivers a dud!

#Liger is a Bigger Disaster than #Acharya (32.5%) in terms of ROI for the Buyers. It is unlikely to recover even 30%. There isn’t a single Theatre where it managed to collect Rent on Monday. Business as good as closed! pic.twitter.com/NPJO8cX1Sj

— AndhraBoxOffice.Com (@AndhraBoxOffice) August 30, 2022

Vijay Deverakonda = Attitude + Overconfidence!

Surprisingly, despite the much-hyped promotions, Liger received negative reviews and responses from critics, audiences and — surprise, surprise — Deverakonda’s fans as well. In fact, social media is brimming with posts and videos that criticised and ridiculed the film for its lousy content, mediocre narration, badly-written characters and poorly-conceived climax.

And Vijay’s attitude, arrogance and overconfidence during Liger’s promotions also drew flak from various sections.

Most recently, during a press meet in Hyderabad, Deverakonda raised many eyebrows by sitting inappropriately (with his legs on the table) in front of the media. Following this, many netizens replied to his tweets and tagged his photos saying that his behaviour would not let fetch him success in the long run.

The LIGER review is a tight slap on the face of arrogant Vijay Deverkonda

It’s a BIG FLOP? pic.twitter.com/bxgcRRgKxf

— Sheetal Chopra ?? (@SheetalPronamo) August 25, 2022

Does popularity make one a better actor?

It is undeniably true that Deverakonda is quite popular among youngsters: It could be his looks, or other factors. But to excel in one’s career, an actor must choose his scripts wisely. In the case of this “youth icon”, he is beginning to appear monotonous, playing similar roles.

Given his nature, the actor claims that he gets under the skin of his characters even off-screen. This is the reason the world witnesses an entirely new Deverakonda every time he promotes an upcoming film. However, this is only defaming him, instead giving a boost to his career. The quicker he realises this, the better for him,

Vijay Deverakonda’s Liger is a box office disaster. (Supplied)

Deverakonda is currently shooting for Khushi, directed by Shiva Nirvana and produced by Mythri Movie Makers. Samantha is playing his lady love in it. And despite Liger’s failure, the actor is teaming up again with director Puri Jagannadh for Jana Gana Mana.

But neither the Telugu film industry nor Deverakonda’s fans are sure about the success of this new project.

Indeed, critics believe that it’s high time that the actor took suggestions and advice from experts and seniors, instead of saying “yes” to scripts that would please his fans.