Before Ananya Panday, 'Liger' director wanted to cast THIS actor with Vijay Deverakonda

Actors Vijay Deverakonda and Ananya Panday are currently gearing up for the release of their forthcoming highly-anticipated film Liger, which is set to hit the big screens on August 25. Meanwhile, the SOTY 2 actor has been garnering a lot of appreciation for her upcoming venture as fans can't wait to see her opposite the Arjun Reddy star, but did you know that director Puri Jagannadh had earlier considered Janhvi Kapoor to star as the female lead in the film, opposite Deverakonda? Continue reading to know more.

Puri Jagannadh reveals Janhvi Kapoor was the first choice for Liger

As per Indian Express, recently Puri Jagannadh shared that Janhvi Kapoor was his first choice for Liger, opposite Vijay Deverakonda, but she didn't have dates, 'so the role went to Ananya Panday'.

Opening up about the same, he said, "I am a big fan of Sridevi Ji, so I wanted to cast Jhanvi (Kapoor), but her dates were not available."

Rumours were rift that the director even approached the Roohi actor for Vijay’s next film, Jana Gana Mana (JGM). Reacting to this, he said, "Yes, we had, but she didn’t have dates. But I definitely want to work with her."

While opening up about working with Ananya Panday, Jagannadh termed it as 'amazing', adding, "She is a firebrand, very active and she is good in confrontational scenes with the hero." He further added that they have been working on the film for the 'last two, two and a half years', and she has changed a lot. "Every three to four months I see a different Ananya. The last song I shot with her, she is perfect now," he said.

More on Liger

Liger is Deverakonda's first pan-India movie, directed by Puri Jagannadh and produced by Apoorva Mehta, Hiroo Yash Johar and Jagannadh under the banners of Dharma Productions and Puri Connects. The film stars Vijay Deverakonda, Ramya Krishna and Ananya Panday.

(Image: @ananyapanday/Instagram)