Liger disaster haunts Double iSmart as distributors boycott Ram Pothineni starrer

Filmmaker-producer Puri Jagannadh finds himself in a tough spot for the first time in his illustrious career spanning over two decades. His upcoming movie Double iSmart has become a hard sell among distributors in the Telugu states.

Double iSmart is the sequel to the 2019 action film iSmart Shankar, and it again stars Ram Pothineni as an urban gangster still roaming the streets of Hyderabad. iSmart Shankar was a big hit and revitalized Puri's career, which was already going through a dull phase. His success inspired him to take bigger risks, leading to his leap of faith with Liger.

Starring Vijay Deverakonda in the lead role, Puri mounted the movie on mixed martial arts sports on a huge scale in association with Bollywood producer Karan Johar's Dharma Productions. It boasted a huge star cast, including a cameo by boxing legend Mike Tyson. The filmmakers also left no stone unturned in promotional efforts, creating solid hype before its release. "I will only start counting box office collections after Rs 200 crore," declared Vijay, demonstrating his faith in Liger's potential to become a smash hit across the country.

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However, Liger turned out to be a huge disaster. The film took the biggest opening in Vijay Deverakonda's career but garnered poor reviews. Word of mouth among audiences was also not favourable, and it couldn't even put up a decent performance at the box office during its opening weekend. It caused a huge loss to distributors in the Telugu states, who demanded compensation for their losses in vain.

It seems the aggrieved distributors have now banded together and are unwilling to take a chance on Double iSmart. According to sources, distributors in Telangana have en masse boycotted the movie unless Puri clears the dues of Liger.

The ongoing issue has sparked speculations about the producers contemplating postponing the release of Double iSmart. But, it's not true. Actress-producer Charmme Kaur, who has co-produced the movie, confirmed that there was no change in the movie's release date.

"Money does not change people, it unmasks them. These experiences are achieved only through experience. #DoubleISMART GRAND release on August 15th worldwide," she posted on her social media account, taking a jab at those turning their back on Double iSmart.

Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt plays the main antagonist in the movie, while it also stars Kavya Thapar, Bani J, Sayaji Shinde, and Ali, among others.

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