Ananya Panday and Vijay Deverakonda and have been travelling all over the country to promote their film Liger. The film, which released on Thursday, marked the first pan-India release for the Arjun Reddy actor and the first collaboration for Panday with a director and actor from the Telugu industry. What makes things interesting with Liger for the Gehraiyaan actor is that this is the first time she will be seen sharing the screen with her father and actor Chunky Panday.
Interestingly, they play the role of father-daughter on-screen too. In an exclusive conversation with News18.com, the Saaho actor said he is proud to be sharing the frame with his daughter. “This is the first time I am playing the role of a father on-screen and what better way to start off with than my own daughter? I always wanted to collaborate with her and when this opportunity came, I literally jumped toward it. It is very late in the movie that the audience will come to know that Ananya is playing my daughter in the film which was really interesting.”
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Talking about shooting with Ananya, the Aankhen actor says that it was a special moment. “Initially I was a bit nervous but then I thought why am I anxious, Ananya should feel that way (laughs). In fact, I kept teasing Ananya that I was looking young and anyone would pass me off as her brother in the film (laughs). I shot for three days and we had a great time and it was as if we were just having fun and being natural,” he says.
Also read: Liger Review: Vijay Deverakonda Fails to Roar and Break Away From Shackles of Arjun Reddy
He adds, “It was almost like a small picnic for me as Charmme (Kaur, the producer) is one of the most hospitable people and we would be treated to some amazing food. While my character lives in Las Vegas, we shot all of it in Mumbai, so my only complaint is not being able to Vegas (laughs).”
Panday says that he never thought of being a part of Liger, “It was never the original plan. But Puri (Jagannadh, the director) briefly met and he narrated the character and asked me would you do it? And like I said earlier, I had never played a father in the past considering the kind of roles I have been doing, so I felt it would be an interesting choice.”
