Vijay Deverakonda is in Chennai on Tuesday to promote his upcoming film, Kingdom. Speaking to the media at the pre-release event in the city, the actor expressed his gratitude to actor Suriya, music composer Anirudh Ravichander, and the Tamil audience.
Vijay says that the decision to release the film in Tamil and Telugu was made on day one. “The day I heard the script of Kingdom from Gowtham Tinnanuri, I decided that the film should release in two languages. Gowtham is also the director of Jersey, which was received very well here in Tamil Nadu. So, we wanted to make Kingdom in Telugu and Tamil. Initially, the film was only set on the coast of Andhra Pradesh, but later it was extended to the coast of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, as the issues we face are similar,” he explained.
He further expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Tamil audience. “So far, I have only promoted the film in Hyderabad, and this is the only other place I am visiting for the promotions. I have received immense love for my films from all of you, and I thought it was important for me to pay a visit to the audience who support me.”
Talking about actor Suriya, who lent his voice to the Tamil teaser of the film, he said, “As I am in Chennai, I take this opportunity to thank Suriya Anna. When we first released the teaser, my director wanted Suriya Anna’s voice as the narrator. Tarak (NTR Jr.) and Ranbir Kapoor played narrators in Telugu and Hindi, respectively. We wanted Suriya Anna in Tamil because he has a very powerful voice. As I don’t like asking favours, I didn’t want to call, but on my director’s request, I unwillingly called Suriya Anna and asked him to deny the favour. But when I explained, he immediately took it up and helped me out. I am extremely grateful to him for that; it meant a lot.”
Vijay also spoke fondly of Anirudh. He said, “Secondly, I also want to thank Anirudh, the favourite composer of Telugu and Tamil people alike. Yesterday, he was in Hyderabad, performing at Kingdom’s pre-release event. Now, he is back at Chennai, making sure that the final mix is perfect before it goes for the USA premiere.”
On the personal camaraderie that he has built with the composer, he added, “Back when I paid a visit to Chennai during the promotions for Kushi, I had mentioned my love for Anirudh. I hadn’t met him yet then. But in the last couple months I spent some time with him in Chennai. I chilled with his boys at the studio, went out and played pickleball with them, and a lot more. Now I want to kidnap him even more. Ani, I love you, and thank you for everything you’ve done.”
Vijay concluded his speech by talking about the power of Anirudh’s words. “People take Ani’s words more seriously than mine. In some interview, he said he watched 40 minutes of Kingdom and loved it, and that went viral. When he said that Kingdom will be a milestone in the director’s and my careers, my own friends told me that the film will be a sureshot success because Ani has affirmed it.”
Also starring Bhagyashri Borse and Satya Dev, Kingdom is produced by Naga Vamsi and Sai Soujanya under Sithara Entertainments and Fortune Four Cinemas and is presented by Srikara Studios. The recently released trailer also introduced Venkitesh as part of the supporting cast.