Vijay Deverakonda’s Jana Gana Mana shelved following Liger’s box office failure
Vijay Deverakonda’s upcoming film Jana Gana Mana has been shelved after the failure of his latest release Liger, sources have confirmed to HT. Jana Gana Mana was going to reunite Vijay with his Liger director Puri Jagannadh.
Vijay Deverakonda’s latest release Liger, which also marked his Bollywood debut, has turned out to be a box office disaster. Following the film’s failure, reports had emerged that Vijay’s next film Jana Gana Mana, which was also to be directed by Puri Jagannadh, has been shelved. Now, a source close to Vijay has confirmed to Hindustan Times that the project has indeed been canned. Read more: Vijay Deverakonda's Liger sees drop due to India-Pak cricket match, earns ₹35 crore
Vijay’s Liger, directed by Puri Jagannadh, was released amid high expectations. However, the film sank at the box office. As per trade sources, the film managed ₹35 crore across India in its opening weekend, a disappointing figure given the film’s scale. Even before the release of Liger on August 25, it was announced that Vijay Deverakonda and Puri will work together on another project, titled Jana Gana Mana. It was also announced that the film will be released in August 2023. However, both Vijay and Puri have decided to call off Jana Gana Mana following the failure of Liger, as per a source.
In Liger, Vijay played an MMA fighter with a stutter. The film also featured Ananya Panday, Ronit Roy and Ramya Krishnan in key roles. Former American boxer Mike Tyson was also seen in a cameo in Liger.
Following recent reports of Jana Gana Mana being shelved, fans had taken to Twitter to request Vijay not to go ahead with the film. One fan had tweeted, “Good decision by @TheDeverakonda. Jana Gana Mana dropped.” Another fan wrote in Telugu that this is the best decision Vijay has taken so far in his career. One more fan wrote, “Doing Arjun Reddy was the second best decision in Vijay Deverakonda’s career, rejecting this film was the first.”
Vijay will soon resume shooting for his upcoming Telugu romantic-drama Kushi, co-starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu. A few months ago, the team wrapped up a major portion of the shoot in Kashmir.