Vijay Deverakonda on being called a superstar: ‘It is awkward to me, I feel embarrassed’
Vijay Deverakonda grew up being fascinated with the idea of stardom but says when people feel he has already reached that mythical space in his career, he shrugs it off as he doesn’t believe the term “fits” him yet. Vijay, star of films like Arjun Reddy, Geetha Govindam and Dear Comrade, is ready make his Hindi debut with the upcoming Liger.
For the Karan Johar backed actioner–which was shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu– the actor has been on an all-India promotional tour, along with his co-star Ananya Panday. Every city that Vijay Deverakonda visited, he came back with overwhelming love. But, he still feels he has not done enough in his more than a decade long career to “deserve” being called a superstar.
In an interview with Galatta Plus, Vijay said, “I have always been fascinated with the term superstar and always wanted to be called a superstar and become one. I am doing the Liger fandom tour across India and the press in every city is receiving you with so much love and respect and everyone addresses you as a superstar.”
“It has suddenly started feeling a little awkward to me, I am feeling embarrassed it. Maybe at some point I feel like I don’t think I have done enough to deserve it yet. When friends text me, saying, ‘What is this reaction? This is super stardom’, I am like, ‘Let’s wait till August 25’. I don’t think the term fits yet, but there has been a lot of love.”
The actor’s Hindi debut comes at a time when Bollywood is struggling to get a hit, as films of biggies–from Laal Singh Chaddha of Aamir Khan to Akshay Kumar’s Raksha Bandhan–has bombed at the box office. Deverakonda is aware that when his film hits theatres on August 25, all eyes will be on him, but he is not under any pressure.
“I feel that I have a really good film in hand. I can see that the films are not performing as they normally would. But there is no point in us complaining, you have to push and see where the limit is. I am just pushing and I will understand the limitations and then try and work within it. For now, we are testing the waters and making the attempt. From this release, I will take the learnings and accordingly take the steps ahead.”
For a section of the Hindi-speaking audience, Deverakonda is most known for his 2017 blockbuster Arjun Reddy. The film, whose Hindi adaptation Kabir Singh was headlined Shahid Kapoor, was widely criticised for glorifying misogyny. Vijay Deverakonda stated the angst he had post the release of the film has finally mellowed down.
“I think I have sobered up as a person, I have become calmer. Some people were asking me recently, where has the anger gone? I don’t know. I think doing films that you enjoy is reducing the anger in me. But there is still a lot of chaos and fire inside me,” the actor concluded.
