Vijay Devarakonda’s acting journey has been a marvellous one. From starring in blockbusters like Arjun Reddy to essaying a romantic role in romantic comedy Pelli Choopulu and now gearing up for the release of Liger; the actor has surely come a long way. Even though the Telugu industry is often tagged as nepotistic, Vijay Devarakonda has managed to carve his way to stardom among the links of Mahesh Babu and Allu Arjun. In a recent interview, the Liger actor talked about the same and shared how he created his own unique image among fans.
“It’s not easy. If someone wants to attempt it… It’s probably the single hardest thing I’ve had to do in my life, to find a platform where your voice can be heard and you can be seen as an actor. It was really hard,” he said as cited by Indian Express.
The actor also shared that he was actively working in theatre before he made his on-screen debut with the 2012 movie Life Is Beautiful. He further mentioned that he starred in six consecutive plays hoping filmmakers would notice him, but nobody did.
“When I finished theatre, I thought I would announce I want to be an actor and all the producers will line up. I thought I’ll debut and I’ll become an actor. But suddenly when I wanted to, there was nowhere to go or talk. Nobody was looking,” he added.
Narrating how he got his first on-screen role, Vijay told the news portal, “I would apply for audition calls and then wait for casting opportunities, like every struggling actor does. Every night I would sleep with a thought that I would get a call. From one of my plays, somebody spotted me I did a small role and then director Sekhar Kammula gave me a casting call. It was a supporting role. But then again, there was no work for one year.”
However, to fulfill his towering ambitions, Vijay along with a few friends of his brought light-hearted romantic comedy Pelli Choopulu onto the big screen and that too with a budget of Rs 60 lakhs. Sharing details about the same, Vijay said, “We made it in Rs 60 lakhs, none of us took any money. We raised some money from two investors. It was a struggle to release it. We went around to every production house showing the film, asking people to help release it. There was one particular producer who saw it and liked it. He decided to help us release it. It opened very small but went on to make Rs 25-30 crore and eventually got a National Award. That launched me, it was my first film as a solo lead. Suddenly everybody knew me. After that Arjun Reddy happened and since then I haven’t been out of work.”
Meanwhile, Vijay Devarakonda is currently gearing up for the release of Liger which also stars Ananya Panday. The film will hit theatres on August 25.
