Vijay Deverakonda’s Birthday: 5 quotes by the self-made star on struggle, financial crisis, nepotism, and more

Vijay Deverakonda is one of the most popular actors in the South film industry. But if you are wondering why he is loved and became such a big star. It’s only because of his journey. The actor is a perfect example of a self-made star. His struggle to make it big has always connected to audiences. 

Vijay Deverakonda had to go through a lot of struggles before achieving what he is today. He started off his career in the Telugu film industry by doing supporting roles in films like Nuvvila, Yevade Subramanyam and Life Is Beautiful. Although he was praised for his performances in the films, not many people recognized him. Yes, in fact, it was after his first blockbuster hit Pelli Choopulu, many people realized it was Vijay in the supporting roles. 

With Tharun Bhasckar’s Pelli Choopulu, Vijay just managed to hit the right chord among the audiences with his screen persona, attitude, and slang. After that, he became an overnight sensation and continued the streak with Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Arjun Reddy. His portrayal as Arjun made an everlasting impression. Despite the criticism, protest, and bad remarks about the film, it won big at the box office. 

Post Arjun Reddy, it was an all-cake walk for Vijay with many hits like Geetha Govindam, Dear Comrade, and more. And it was not all happy and successful for him always, he had many flops. But despite everything, he rose like a star. A star that is seen and remembered always. 

Apart from his on-screen presence as an actor, he is loved for his off-screen nature. The way he put his struggles, and fight to become something, his middle-class problems, it all always connected with the youth. He has an immense craze for his speeches too. The way he talks is what the youth die for. The whole youth connects to Vijay as a person and as an actor like no one else. 

On Vijay Deverakonda’s birthday, here are times when he inspired many to dream big!

Became an actor for money

Vijay Deverakonda is filter-free. He is somebody who speaks what’s in his mouth. The star once shared why he wanted to become an actor and his brutally honest answer is the reason that makes him unique. He said, “I love acting. I love the money that comes with it, the comfort and the luxury that I can provide for my family but I also feel there is a bigger purpose for what’s happened in my life. When I was growing up, I saw Shah Rukh Khan coming from Delhi or Chiranjeevi Garu back home coming from nothing. They gave a glimmer of hope that it can be done. I think I need to do the same for my generation.”

Breaking the knack of nepotism

The Telugu Film industry is run by eminent families like the Chiranjeevi family, the Akkineni family, the Daggubati family, and more. Breaking into this nepotistic industry is a huge task and Vijay did it but it wasn’t easy as it seems. When Vijay attended Koffee With Karan, he went back in time and recalled his early days of struggle in the Telugu film industry and said ‘It was the hardest thing’. The actor said, “It was not easy. It was probably the single hardest thing I had to do in my life to find a platform where I could be seen as an actor. I started with theatre and when I finished that, I thought that I would announce I want to become an actor and all the producers will line up. Suddenly, I realized that you can’t even get their attention. In theatres, whenever I used to do a show, other directors would line up to ask me to act in their plays. Nothing of this sort happened when I wanted to join the film industry. I didn’t even know where to go to, whom to talk to. I used to scan through websites posting casting calls.”

Fight for everything in life

Even after becoming an actor, Vijay struggled to make his every film reach cinema halls. He got emotional and said he had to fight for everything in life. The popular actor said, “If there’s anything that life has taught me, it’s to fight for it. Fighting for money, for respect. I had to fight for my place in this world. I fought for work. Every film that I did was a fight for me. Nobody wanted to produce my first film. We raised money on our own and we acted for free in that movie. Release karne ke liye koi nahi tha. We were nobody, I had nobody to back me. Arjun Reddy happened but it wasn’t an easy release. There were protests and we had to fight that. I got so much love after the release. We also fought piracy later.”

Fire to fight hate and trolls

With love comes hate, with stardom comes trolls, and it wasn’t any different for Vijay as well. When the world tried to boycott his film Liger reaching the big screens, he said, “I wasn’t scared when I had nothing. Now I have so much, then why should I be scared? I have my mother’s blessing, people’s love, god, and fire inside me, so whatever happens, I will see to it.”

500 at 25 in the bank

Vijay hailed from a middle-class family and often struggled to meet daily needs. In fact, he once shared that he had only Rs 500  in his bank account when he joined the Forbes 30 league. How inspiring right? Speaking about his success story, Deverakonda, in a tweet, explained how he struggled when he was 25 before he made his mark in Tollywood. 

At that time, his father offered him a piece of advice that inspired him to work hard. Sharing that, he wrote, “I was 25. Andhra Bank lo 500 Rs. min balance maintain cheyakapothe lock chesinru account. Dad said settle before 30 – That way you can enjoy your success when you are young and your parents are healthy. 4 years later – Forbes Celebrity 100, Forbes 30 under 30.”

All for fans and their love

Vijay Deverakonda always acknowledges his fans. He knows being an outsider, he is here all because of their love and never misses to thank them. Last year, on his birthday, he shared an inspiring tale of how he never liked birthdays during childhood due to the struggles but today he celebrates only for his fans. “To someone who stopped celebrating birthdays when I was 15 – your love has made me care about them. 8 years back, You didn’t know of my name or my existence, today you cheer me, support me, fight for me, believe in me and lots of you give me unconditional love. I just want to let you know, it shall be returned. One way or another, the love I feel from you, you shall feel from me”
 

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