Vijay Deverakonda - Biography

Deverakonda Vijay Sai is a Telugu actor and film producer. He made his Telugu debut in Nuvvila (2015) and later appeared in Yevade Subramanyam as a supporting actor (2015). With Pelli Choopulu (2016), Arjun Reddy (2017), Geetha Govindam (2018), Mahanati (2018) and Taxiwaala (2018), he established himself as a renowned performer (2018). In Arjun Reddy, he got a Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for his depiction of a self-destructive alcoholic. Geetha Govindam was named SIIMA's Best Actor (Critics).

Deverakonda is the owner of King of the Hill Entertainment, which began with Meeku Maathrame Cheptha (2019). In 2019, he was included in Forbes India's 30 Under 30 list and was named the most searched South Indian actor in Google's yearly report.

Early life

Deverakonda Vijay Sai was born on May 9, 1989, in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, to Govardhan Rao and Madhavi (now Telangana). His ancestors are from Thummanpeta, a village in the old Mahbubnagar district (now Nagarkurnool). His father was a small-time television serial director who gave up after little success. Deverakonda attended the Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary Institution (a boarding school) in Puttaparthi until the tenth grade. He holds a bachelor's degree in business. His younger brother, Anand, is also a performer.

Career

Early Struggles

Deverakonda made his film debut in Ravi Babu's rom-com Nuvvila (2011). He then appeared in Sekhar Kammula's Life Is Beautiful for a while. He was acquainted with Nag Ashwin, who cast him in a supporting role with actor Nani in Yevade Subramanyam in 2015. The film was produced by the daughters of Telugu movie producer Ashwini Dutt; Priyanka Dutt first backed him, and then when production began, Swapna Dutt got him on board.

Breakthrough & Success

Tharun Bhascker's romantic coming-of-age film Pelli Choopulu was Deverakonda's first significant part. The film won Best Feature Film in Telugu and Best Film in Telugu at the 64th National Film Awards. He had an appearance in the 2017 masala movie Dwaraka.

 His second picture, Arjun Reddy, drew both praise and criticism for being both daring and unconventional. Vijay received critical praise and prizes for depicting a self-destructive, angry, and drunken surgeon, winning the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu. In 2019, Film Companion called Deverakonda's performance in Arjun Reddy one of the "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade."

 Arjun Reddy was followed by Ye Mantram Vesave, which was meant to be published in 2013 but was released in 2018. After that, he appeared in Mahanati, a biography of actress Savitri. Deverakonda's second movie of 2018 was the rom-com Geetha Govindam, in which he portrayed a naïve and fearful college instructor. NOTA, Anand Shankar's Tamil political thriller released on October 5, had a poor box office success. Taxiwaala, a spooky comedic thriller produced by UV Creations, was his second production.

In 2019, Vijay Deverakonda acted in Rashmika Mandanna's romantic action drama Dear Comrade, directed by Bharat Kamma. He later consented to appear in Anand Annamalai's Hero, starring Malavika Mohanan. However, the project was shelved once production began. He co-starred in Kranthi Madhav's love drama World Famous Lover in 2020, opposite Raashi Khanna, Catherine Tresa,  Izabelle Leite and Aishwarya Rajesh.

Notable Performances

Pelli Choopulu

Vijay Devarakonda appeared in this film with which everyone, especially young people, may identify. He played Prashanth as a jobless, reckless engineering graduate with aspirations of becoming a chef. Prashanth's father, fed up with his son's reckless lifestyle and bravado, plans to marry him off in the expectation that it would make him more responsible. They plan a 'Pelli Choopulu' (meet and greet with a potential bride) with Chitra (Ritu Varma), an MBA graduate who wishes to study in Australia but is driven by her father to look for appropriate partners and get married. Chitra and Prashanth are trapped in a room for a few hours in comedy-of-error circumstances, and they confide in each other regarding their lives and histories. The essence of the story is how the two opposing personalities respond to their 'Pelli Choopulu' and set out to attain their life goals. It is one of Tollywood's most genuine and sympathetic love stories in recent years.

Yevade Subramanyam

The premise of this beautiful film deals with questions such as "Who Am I?" and "What Am I Doing?" that everyone may ask at some point in their lives.

Nani's character, Subramanyam, works as an Investment Banker and is motivated by ambition, prestige, and money. His ambition and objective as an IIM-A graduate are to make it big in life. He is so focused on his objective that he loses sight of the present moment and the beauty of life. When he was about to marry an industrialist and his employer Pasupathi's (played by Nazar) daughter named Ria (played by Ritu Verma), an unexpected visitor arrives in the name and shape of his childhood friend Rishi (played by Vijay Devarakonda). However, Vijay Deverakonda did an excellent job as Rishi, the character who lives in the present and has the heart to cherish every minute of life. His primary purpose in life is to accompany Subbu to Dudh Kashi in the Himalayas. Anandi, the heroine, approaches them at a tavern (played by Malavika Nair). She becomes their buddy and shares their outlook on life.

At the film's end, it was evident why Rishi wanted to get to Dudh Kashi and whether or not he succeeded. The dialogues between Ramaiah (played by Krishnam Raju), whose firm Subbu seeks to take over, are priceless. The storyline and directing in this film were exceptional, and the sequence of events depicting Subbu's development and the genuine love between Subbu and Anandi deserves special notice. Subbu's contact with Robert and their chats are vividly depicted.

Arjun Reddy

Arjun Reddy (Vijay Devarakonda) is a talented medical student studying at Mangalore college. He struggles with controlling his rage. When he spotted Preethi (Shalini), a Tulu girl from Hyderabad, he fell in love at first sight. As the narrative develops, Preethi falls for him, and they eventually become inseparable.

Later, when Arjun Reddy chooses to leave Mangalore for Mussoorie for post-graduation, he visits Preethi's house to seek her hand in marriage. On the other hand, her father despises him and refuses to recognize their love. She'll soon be married off to a Tulu boy. He transforms into Devadas, embarks on a destructive path, becomes an alcoholic, and becomes hooked on narcotics. His friends and family try to help him return to regular life, but he continues torturing himself and becoming obsessed with Preethi. Then he attempts to keep a sexual relationship with a Hollywood star going. He becomes a surgeon but maintains his terrible lifestyle. The remainder of the story is about how this today's Devadas returns to sanity, forcing him to restore his prior self.

Geetha Govinda

Govind (Vijay Deverakonda), a lecturer at an engineering college in this film, desires a bride who can understand him without saying anything. Similar to how Sukanya perceived Kamal Haasan in Bharateeyudu. When he meets Geetha (Rashmika) at a temple, he knows she is the one he is seeking for. Geetha sits alongside him on the bus as he travels to his hometown of Kakinada to attend his sister's engagement ceremony. He accidentally kisses her on the bus, and Geetha misinterprets him as a Romeo and summons her brother (Subbaraju) to murder him. In an unexpected twist, her brother becomes Govind's sister's fiance.

From the outset, Geetha Govindam made it clear that the film is about the two young lovers, Geetha and Govindam, their courtship, foolish fights, misunderstandings, and so on. This succeeds in Geetha Govindam because the plot is secondary to the fun and sarcasm between the two lead performers. Furthermore, the plot has a high level of entertainment throughout. Rahul Ramakrishna, the major cause of the 'accidental kiss,' gives some hilarious moments. In the concluding scenes, Vennela Kishore is the one who brings the chuckles.

Charity and Support

Pandemic of COVID-19

A campaign has been launched to combat the COVID-19 epidemic. With the support of his Middle-Class Fund, the Foundation has successfully provided food and basics to 17,000 middle-class homes, spending 1.7 crores. Approximately 8,500 volunteers donated nearly 1.5 crores to his community effort. The organizers decided to stop the effort on June 2, 2020.

Pulwama attack victims

Deverakonda has given relief funds, including one to the families and close relatives of the Pulwama attack victims in 2019.

The Deverakonda Foundation

In April 2019, Vijay Deverakonda conceptualized and established The Deverakonda Foundation, a non-profit organization to provide relief for middle-class families in India. Through the Foundation, he gave 24,000 rupees to Ganesh Ambari, a kickboxer who later won the prestigious Vaco Indian Open International Kickboxing Championship Title 2020 in early 2020. The Foundation recently kick-started a fellowship program for needy and unemployed students to help acquire industry-level skills by providing them with mentors and industry experts. 

Brands & Endorsements

• Vijay Deverakonda owns the celebrity fashion label Rowdy Wear. The brand's goods include clothing for men, women, and children, accessories, and footwear. The brand, positioned as streetwear, attempts to combine fashion, comfort, and confidence. It mostly caters to students and the younger population, offering modern street fashion at reasonable pricing.

• In recent years, Vijay Deverakonda built a cinema in Mahbubnagar in collaboration with Asian Cinemas, combining the elegance and luxury of a theatre. He also stated that Mahbubnagar is his parents' hometown. Thus he wanted to give this particular present to everyone in the area. It's known as Asian Vijay Devarakonda Cinemas (AVD). It was just opened to the public, and the first film to be shown on the big screen will be Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi's Love Story on September 24.

• Sangeetha Mobiles, South India's largest mobile retail chain, announced the appointment of young idol Vijay Deverakonda as Brand Ambassador. The statement was made in front of the actor's admirers at St. Mary's College in Yousufguda, Lagos.

• Vijay Deverakonda recently announced his investment in Watts and Volts, a Hyderabad-based electric vehicle business aimed toward eco-friendly and sustainable electric motorcycles that would begin operations next year. The amount of investment, however, was not disclosed.

• Zomato has also hired Vijay Deverakonda to represent the 'On Time or Free' campaign in Southern areas. Vijay appears in the TV commercial as a Zomato user who has chosen 'on-Time or Free.'

• Thumbs Up, Coca-Cola India's indigenous brand, collaborates with the company's new face of action, Vijay Deverakonda, to launch a new campaign. The action-packed commercial starring the South actor capitalizes on Thums Up's particular taste and expertise.

Present

The actor is reportedly busy his whole as an arrays movie scheduled to be filmed and to be released this year. As of now, he is working on his Hindi-Telugu bilingual film Liger. Puri Jagannadh is directing the film, which Karan Johar produces. He is also partly working on the sets of Khushi, which also stars Samantha; it is a sweet slice-of-life rom-com scheduled to release on December 23 this year. Vijay Devarakonda confirmed his forthcoming film and will again team up with Puri Jagannadh and Charmme Kaur, producing the film for a new Jana Gana Mana project. As the female lead, Pooja Hegde has joined the cast. The shooting will commence, with the first schedule in Mumbai. According to sources, Pooja Hegde plays the female protagonist in the film, which marks her first cooperation with Vijay Deverakonda.

Awards and Nominations

2015: Special Jury Award in Nandi Awards for Yevade Subramanyam

2017: Zee Golden Awards for Best Actor(Arjun Reddy)

2018: Filmfare Awards South for Best Actor – Telugu(Arjun Reddy)

2018: South Indian International Movie Awards for Best Actor-Telugu(Arjun Reddy) [Nominated]

2019: South Indian International Movie Awards for Best Actor-Telugu(Geetha Govindam) [Nominated]

2019: South Indian International Movie Awards for Best Actor(Critics)-Telugu(Geetha Govindam) 

2019: Filmfare Awards South for Best Actor-Telugu(Geetha Govindam) [Nominated]

Fun Facts

• Deverakonda claims that his family used to nickname him "rowdy" if he did something they didn't approve of. He began utilizing this word for himself and his admirers over time.

• Deverakonda is noted for expressing his genuine, uncensored ideas on stage or in interviews, which has earned him a lot of attention, such as his remark at the Arjun Reddy audio premiere in 2017.

• His boyhood aim was to be a singer, and he even attempted to master classical music, but his interests switched to cricket.

• On his 29th birthday, the actor surprised his fans with three trucks full of ice cream to assist them in beating the heat.

• He's been writing stories since fourth grade, and having attended a boarding school, Vijay took to writing at an early age, and it's been one of his strengths, which he has yet to use fully.

•  Vijay Deverakonda was placed 72nd on Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list in 2018. In 2018, he was ranked fourth in The Times' Most Desirable Men, third in 2019, and second in 2020.