Actor Vijay Deverakonda has said that during the filming of his movie ‘Liger’, his co-star and former world heavyweight champion boxer Mike Tyson had abused him in English, adding that he couldn’t even repeat what Tyson said.

“He abused me a lot, albeit lovingly, in English and I can’t even repeat what he said to me. But yes, I had a good time with him,” Vijay said during a conversation with IANS.

Vijay later talked about the diet of the famed American boxer, saying: “His diet is somewhat similar to Ananya (Panday).”

Ananya, who plays the female lead in ‘Liger’, also shared what she learnt from Tyson and how good their bonding was.

“We both eat a lot so we had a great bonding on the sets. I learnt from Mike sir ‘never say no to anything’,” she said.

Vijay also talked about Tyson’s love for India and what he feared the most in the country.

“He loves India a lot for its food, music and people. In fact, he used to ask us to bring Indian food for him which he enjoyed a lot. But yes, he is scared of the crowd here. Once he came here and stayed only in the hotel, as he was scared of the crowd that gathers at the airport or any other place,” said the ‘Arjun Reddy’ actor.

Directed by Puri Jagannadh, the sports-action film features Vijay as the titular MMA fighter boxer along with Ananya. Tyson is seen making a cameo in the film, which is all set to release on August 24.

Like how Vijay Deverakonda is not a professional fighter (MMA), Mike Tyson is also not a professional actor.

Both acted together in Puri Jagannadh’s commercial entertainer Liger which is gearing up for theatrical release on August 25th.

Of course, Vijay took intense training in the sport, before starting the shoot and he has learnt it to bring authenticity to the character.

There is a fight sequence between Vijay Deverakonda and Mike Tyson, towards the climax of the movie. Vijay’s mom was worried a lot about this sequence.

In fact, Vijay also feared whether he would incur any injuries during the shoot of this particular sequence.

Mike Tyson had to punch Vijay in the sequence. As Tyson isn’t a professional actor, he failed to overlap his punch properly over Vijay’s face.

Vijay who suffered a partial hit from Tyson, felt buzzing in the head for the whole day. Later, Tyson learned how to overlap to perfection.

With boxing legend Mike Tyson appearing in an extended cameo in the upcoming film ‘Liger’ starring Telugu superstar Vijay Deverakonda, the actor said his mother was very worried and thought that the former world heavyweight champion might just injure her son.

Vijay, who was present at the trailer launch of the film in Mumbai on Thursday, said: “Yes, my mother was quite worried that Mike Tyson might break my bones and what not! She prayed a lot and put ‘vibhuti’ on my forehead for my protection. You know how mothers are… But of course, we were chilling on the sets. I am here in front of all of you guys now! But yes, she was worried.”

Charmy Kaur, one of the co-producers of the film from Puri Connect, added: “Vijay’s mother was genuinely worried and called us multiple times even before we left for our shooting in the US. She would call me and say, please make sure my Chinnu, that’s what Vijay’s mother calls him at home, is fine. ‘My Chinnu shouldn’t be injured’. Finally when we started showing videos that they are chilling, she got relaxed.”

The story of the film revolves around an MMA fighter named Liger and how from being a street tough, he struggled through in life before representing India at the international level.

Vijay Deverakonda’s Pan India film Liger directed by Puri Jagannadh will have International Icon Mike Tyson in a mighty role. The team went all the way to the USA to shoot the scenes involving Mike Tyson. Team Liger wished Mike Tyson, on the occasion of his birthday, by releasing a video.

Besides the birthday wishes, the video also shows the making visuals. Although he’s a legend Mike Tyson was very friendly with the team which is noticeable in the video. Exhibiting his affection towards Vijay, Tyson kissed and hugged him.

The film co-starring Ananya Pandey is presently in post-production phase. Liger is getting ready for release on August 25th. The team will begin the promotional campaign soon.

Tollywood actor Vijay Deverakonda and Bollywood actress Ananya Pandey have come together for their upcoming movie ‘Liger’ which also features boxing legend Mike Tyson.

Helmed by popular filmmaker Puri Jagannadh, the team of ‘Liger’ is currently in Las Vegas shooting for the film with Mike Tyson.

Going by the latest report, ‘Liger’ team organised a special Indian lunch for Mike Tyson and his wife Kiki as they had known about his love for Indian food. The team conveys that former boxing champion Tyson binged on garlic naan, tandoori chicken, butter chicken, fish tikka masala, and goat biryani for lunch.

The ‘Liger’ team was super excited to host the lunch, as Tyson enjoyed the meal, specially asked for aloo gobi, samosa, palak paneer, and kebabs. Post lunch, all of them posed for happy pictures. Mike Tyson too was delighted with the ‘Liger’ team’s love and hospitality.

As the movie is all set to be wrapped up soon, the expectations are rife. ‘Liger’ marks Vijay Deverakonda’s Bollywood debut, while Ananya Pandey debuts in Telugu movies. Also, this is the first Indian movie in which Mike Tyson would appear in a cameo.

‘Liger’, in which Vijay Deveraakonda will be seen playing the role of a boxer, is jointly produced by Puri Jagannadh, Charmme Kaur, Karan Johar, and Apoorva Mehta.