Vijay Deverakonda is gearing up for his upcoming

spy thriller

Kingdom, directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, with music composed by Anirudh Ravichander. Recently, the 'Arjun Reddy' actor shared that it has been a long-awaited dream for the actor, who has admired the composer's work since before his acting career began.Falling in love with Anirudh's musicIn a recent interview with Cinema Vikatan, Vijay revealed how he first fell in love with Anirudh’s music after watching films like 'VIP' and '3', calling him a genius whose music he often imagined performing to.He said, "That time, I wasn't an actor. But, I felt like if I ever become an actor, this is the kind of music I want. In my head, sometimes when I'm performing, I'm performing to his music. When it finally comes, it's very different. I've wanted him for so many films, it never worked out."

Music eased the MRI experience

He also shared a memorable experience of listening to Anirudh’s hits during a 40-minute MRI scan, describing it as a moment of pure joy and relaxation. He said, "Once, I was getting a shoulder scan done in an MRI machine. It takes around 40 minutes, and you're in that machine alone. I was like, can I listen to some music, and they agreed. I put on Anirudh Ravichander hits, listening and chilling for 40 minutes."Vijay even joked that if he were a king, he would "kidnap" Anirudh and other favorite artists so they would create music exclusively for his films. "If I were a king, I would kidnap him, other artists I like. They only make music for all my films," said Vijay.The first song from 'Kingdom', titled '

Hridayam Lopala

,' is a romantic track composed by Anirudh Ravichander and has already garnered positive reactions from fans.'Kingdom' is a spy action thriller and is expected to portray the refugee crisis following the post-Independence Sinhala-Tamil conflict. The film also stars

Bhagyashree Borse

playing the female lead and Satyadev in a pivotal role.'Kingdom' was originally scheduled to release on May 30, 2025, but the makers recently announced a postponement to July 4, 2025. The delay comes amid ongoing India-Pakistan tensions and unforeseen national events, which have made it difficult to proceed with promotions and celebrations as planned.