Superstar Vijay Deverakonda and ace director Puri Jagannadh have announced their next venture JGM. The action-drama big-ticket Pan-India entertainer will showcase Vijay Deverakonda in a never-seen-before role.
The actor, who shot to nationwide fame with Arjun Reddy and Dear Comrade, told PTI that his desire to entertain audiences across the country has only grown over the years. “If you can tell a story to a whole country then why not? But at the same time, the audience back home is also very important. Any film that I do, we want everyone to enjoy it and be entertained by it. It is not easy to always find a story that works for an entire country because they are rooted (in the milieu) and it makes no sense to scale it. I am lucky that I am getting such (pan India) scripts. I have always enjoyed performing for the biggest audience,” Deverakonda said.
“I knew I wanted to do cinema, when I did theatre, it was one auditorium and I knew it (a stage play) could fill thousands of auditoriums. I wanted the biggest stage and that excites me. So national cinema, Indian cinema… satisfies my desire in me. I will go for it and I am going all out.” The actor also thanked filmmaker SS Rajamouli for opening the doors to pan Indian cinema with his superhit Baahubali film franchise,” he added.
“Pan Indian films were made before but it was Baahubali which showed us what is possible,” he said, adding that these movies will soon be termed “Indian films”.
“We have a huge population and it is one of India’s biggest strengths. I always wondered why Hollywood films are made on such a big budget or why are stars bigger there? And it is only because more people speak English and watch English films.”
“Are they more talented than us? I don’t believe so. We are equally or more talented than them. They are just bigger stars because more people watch their films and know their language,” Deverakonda emphasised.
It is only through unity that the Indian film industry can grow more powerful and reach greater heights, he said. “In two years, if films continue to perform like Baahubali, RRR, and Pushpa then Hollywood will be knocking at our doors to collaborate with them.”
Speaking about their new film JGM, director Jagannadh described the project as “a patriotic film” and his dream project.
“I have been waiting for a chance to make it for many years and finally it is happening because of Vijay. It is a fictional story, it is patriotic war movie. It is a soldier’s dream,” the filmmaker added.
Before JGM, Deverakonda is awaiting the release of Liger, another pan India film. Backed by Hindi filmmaker Karan Johar, the sports action film is scheduled to be released on August 25th. It also stars Ananya Panday and Mike Tyson.
Deverakonda said he is happy with the love he has been receiving from the Hindi-speaking market even before the release of Liger.
“People have made me aware that there is this huge following and I am happy to know that it exists. But having said that, I don’t feel any kind of pressure with Liger because I know it’s a sure hit. I am just waiting for the film to be released,” he added.
JGM will be released on August 3rd, 2023 in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.
(Featured Image Credits: Instagram)
