‘I am living my dream, want to rule Indian cinema’

Arjun Reddy (2017) star Vijay Deverakonda, who will make his Bollywood debut with director Puri Jagannadh’s bilingual film, reveals that he is looking forward to playing the role of a fighter with stutter in his maiden pan-India project.

Tentatively titled Fighter, the film is being shot in Telugu and Hindi simultaneously.

“I’ve started shooting for my first pan-Indian film with Puri Jagannadh... It’s a project that required me to undergo a drastic physical transformation and I’ve been working non-stop to pull off the character. I play a fighter and the role required me to learn mixed martial arts,” he shared.

The 30-year-old also confirmed that he will dub his own lines for the Hindi version. The film will also be dubbed in other south Indian languages.

The project marks the first collaboration of Vijay and Puri, who is best known for films such as Mahesh Babustarrer Pokkiri and Bbudadh... Hoga Terra Baap featuring Amitabh Bachchan, among others. Vijay said that Fighter, with which he will be chasing his dream of attaining nationwide stardom, would be the beginning of a new phase in his career.

“I feel I have slowly started changing and this is the beginning of a new phase in my career. With each of my upcoming releases, I want to surprise my fans. I really want to rule Indian cinema,” he said.

Talking about his latest release, World Famous Lover, Vijay confirmed that it will be the last love story he is going to be part of, as he intends to experiment with other genres.

“This is one of the hardest films of my career. I’m aware of the comparisons with Arjun Reddy (2017) and I didn’t mind, because this will be the last love story of my career. I’ve played three different avatars in the film, which was emotionally and physically more exhausting than I had imagined,” he added.

World Famous Lover, directed by Kranthi Madhav, released last week and received mixed response.

Having chalked out his own path in a cut-throat industry without any backing, Vijay said he’s finally living his dream.

“Be it about doing my kind of films and chasing the pan-India dream, producing a film, launching a clothing line or buying a home, I am living my dream. I am slowly trying to influence and change a generation, and if you notice, the youngsters love me for what I do,” he signed off.

I feel I have slowly started changing and this is the beginning of a new phase in my career. With each of my upcoming releases, I want to surprise my fans.

VIJAY DEVARAKONDA ACTOR