Gone are the days when Tamil, Telugu and even Malayalam actors ran after success in Bollywood, only to be signed, sealed and snubbed in Bollywood. Even the greats like Sivaji Ganesan, Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Mohanlal, Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna were not spared. After attempting to find a footing in Bollywood, these legends scampered back to home turf.
The only legend of the south Indian film industry who refused to bite the Bollywood bait is Mahesh Babu. And now his juniors in the Telugu film industry are also following suit. Vijay Deverakonda, who is seen by many visionaries of the Telugu film industry as the successor to Mahesh Babu, is following in his senior’s footsteps.
Vijay, who has had a spectacular run at the Telugu box office in 2018, has just turned down a plum role in the Hindi film ’83, to be directed by Kabir Khan. It features Ranveer Singh as Kapil Dev and recreates the events leading up to India’s victory in the Cricket World Cup in 1983.
Various big names are being approached to play the participants in the 1983 tournament. Vijay Deverakonda was offered the role of Krishnamachari Srikanth, an offer reportedly politely declined by the actor.
Says a source close to Vijay, “Right now he’s very busy with his commitments in Telugu. Vijay is of course looking forward to a Hindi film debut. But not in a film that already stars Ranveer Singh. No prizes for guessing who would have the most important role in the film.”
Vijay Deverakonda shot to limelight with the 2017 Telugu flick Arjun Reddy, which won him critical acclaim and awards. This movie is currently being remade in Hindi and Tamil. He topped up the success with films like Geetha Govindam and Taxiwala this year, which were big box office hits, with the former even emerging as one of the biggest Telugu grossing films of recent times.
The actor is currently busy shooting for the Telugu campus drama, Dear Comrade, which is directed by Bharat Kamma. Vijay will be seen as a student leader who follows the philosophies of Communism in his actions. His Geetha Govindam co-star Rashmika Mandanna plays the leading lady and she will be seen in the role of a cricketer. The film is produced by Mythri Movie Makers.