South superstar Vijay Deverakonda recently made headlines after ED questioned him over the funding of his film ‘Liger’. The actor was grilled by ED for over 12 hours after some reports claimed that the money used to fund the film came from a foreign source which is a clear violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) of 1999. As per reports, Vijay was summoned by the ED department to share details about the identity of the financiers. Now, the Arjun Reddy actor has broken his silence on ED questioning him for the same.
Addressing the media after the meeting Vijay said he came to meet the officials as this was his duty. The actor was quoted as saying, “With great popularity comes challenges and there’s nothing you can do about it. But I see this as an experience. I did my duty when they called. I went and answered their questions.” Last week, Liger filmmaker-producer duo Puri Jagannadh and producer Charmee Kaur were also summoned and were questioned for over 12 hours about the funding for the film. ALSO READ: WHAT! Vijay Deverakonda Approached To Play Dev in Brahmastra’s Sequel? Here’s What We Know- Reports
A source close to the development revealed to Hindustan Times, “The ED officials wanted to know the name of the company or individuals who funded the movie. They strongly believe that the money used to fund the movie came from abroad. They’re investigating to check if any of this funding was in violation of FEMA.”
Some reports even mentioned that some politicians had invested their black money to fund ‘Liger’ which tanked at the box office. The thriller saw Vijay in the role of an MMA fighter with a speech disorder and marked his Bollywood debut. Also starring Ananya Panday, Ramya Krishna, and Ronit Roy in pivotal roles, Liger was released on 25 August 2022.