“We promised you madness!"
Boxing legend Mike Tyson has been roped in for Vijay Deverakonda’s sports film Liger.
The announcement was made by the film’s producer Karan Johar on September 27, 2021.
He took to Twitter and wrote:
“For the first time ever, the king of the ring will be seen on the big screens of Indian cinema!
“Welcoming Mike Tyson to the Liger team!”
Karan also included a short video to introduce ‘Iron’ Mike.
For the first time ever, the king of the ring will be seen on the big screens of Indian cinema! Welcoming @MikeTyson to the #LIGER team!? #NamasteTyson@TheDeverakonda @ananyapandayy #PuriJagannadh @charmmeofficial @apoorvamehta18 @RonitBoseRoy @meramyakrishnan @iamVishuReddy pic.twitter.com/pl5AnUSB35
— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) September 27, 2021
It is believed that Tyson will have a supporting role in the mixed martial arts film.
Judging by the clip, it is a possibility that lead actor Vijay Deverakonda steps into the ring to take on Mike Tyson.
Liger marks the first collaboration between Vijay Deverakonda and director Puri Jagannadh.
Vijay was excited about sharing the screen with the former world heavyweight champion.
He tweeted: “We promised you madness! We are just getting started.
“For the first time on Indian Screens. Joining our mass spectacle – Liger, The Baddest Man on the Planet The God of Boxing The Legend, the Beast, the Greatest of all Time! Iron Mike Tyson.”
Ananya Panday, who also stars in Liger, was also eager to see Tyson in the film, welcoming him into the cast.
The filmmakers are currently filming high-octane action sequences in Goa.
Liger was originally expected to release in September 2020, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was delayed.
In a joint statement, Karan and Vijay expressed their concern over the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. They also stated their decision to hold back the release of the film’s teaser trailer.
Liger will release in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam.
While this will be the first time that Mike Tyson will be in a Bollywood film, he has been associated with Bollywood before.
In 2007, Tyson appeared in a promotional song for Ahmed Khan’s Fool N Final.
On roping in Tyson for the video, Ahmed had said:
“We needed a special appearance from a celebrity to promote the film without him necessarily being part of it.
“I asked my producer to speak to Mike Tyson.
“We shot Tyson’s sequences in Las Vegas.
“If I had taken him in the film, it would have amounted to cheating the audiences, which we never wanted to do. It was fun working with him.”