Boxing icon Mike Tyson to star in ‘Liger’

Hyderabad: Boxing legend Mike Tyson is set to make his Bollywood debut in the upcoming sports drama feature “Liger”, starring Vijay Deverakonda.

“Liger” is directed by Puri Jagannadh who is also backing the film via his banner Puri Connects, along with Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.

‘Liger’ has been hogging the limelight ever since its inception but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the makers of the movie held its shoot.

In the latest development, the production house announced on their official Twitter handle that their much-awaited film will also feature boxing legend Mike Tyson. The news comes a day before the film’s director Puri Jagannadh’s birthday.

Dharma Productions made Tyson’s casting announcement on its official Twitter page. “Introducing the master of the ring to the Indian screens! Kicked to announce that the dynamite @MikeTyson has joined the cast of #Liger!” the tweet read.

While details of Tyson’s role are yet to be revealed, as per the teaser video, it appears he will face off with Deverakonda’s character in the boxing ring.

Considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, Tyson most famously played a fictionalised version of himself in the 2009 Hollywood hit film “The Hangover” and its 2011 sequel “The Hangover Part II”. He has also starred in “Ip Man 3”, the 2015 film in the popular Hong Kong martial arts film series.

The makers earlier held a spine-chilling teaser unveiling Vijay in a never seen avatar in the film due to the Covid situation. Also featuring Ananya Panday, Ramya Krishnan, Ronit Roy, and Vishu Reddy, “Liger” will be released theatrically in five languages — Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. The makers are yet to announce the release date.