Vijay & I are living the dream our father left his village to chase: Anand Deverakonda

"The other day, while we were out, someone came up to my dad and marvelled at how much I resemble him. I guess I’ve begun to resemble him more now. I suppose it’s only natural — my father is fundamental to everything we are as a family.”

‘It all began with his dream’
But life had other plans. He got married at 25 or 26, and not long after, my parents had Vijay. With a family to support, he had to make choices. He became a director because he had responsibilities to meet. Back then, entertainment didn’t pay well. There were only two TV channels — Doordarshan and DD2. It was a tough life. Humble. Modest. Living from pay cheque to pay cheque, and often not knowing when the next one would come. But no matter how tight things got, he never let us feel the weight of it.



‘He was the first to see the actor in Vijay’
He introduced us to the magic of cinema. Back then in the 2000s it was the era of renting DVDs. He’d show us different kinds of cinema. Me and Vijay studied at hostel in Puttaparthi. We lived in Vanasthalipuram and during summer vacations, we’d come home and frequented Shiv Ganga, Konark, Megha and Raghavendra theatres. It was my dad who first imagined Vijay as an actor when he was just a child. He saw it before any of us did — and you could say he set it all in motion. My dad made sure Vijay had access to an action master, dance master, karate master. He’d always tell him to run around… He thought I’d become a sportsman. I was crazy about cricket. I remember I’d be up at 6 in the morning and push my dad to bowl for me for hours together. He’d patiently indulge me. Well, I ended up surprising him. Even when we didn’t do well in exams — no matter what happened — our parents never judged us for the choices we made. They gave us complete freedom, and that gave us the confidence to make our own decisions. After Vijay came back home after completing school, he wasn’t keen on academics and was interested in drama. My dad spoke to theatre veteran Vinay Varma, arranged ₹30,000, and enrolled him in an acting workshop.

‘I took the leap because he believed in me’
I went on to pursue my MS and moved to the US. By 2017, I was working as a Senior Consultant, doing tech strategy, when Arjun Reddy released. Life was comfortable — stable, well-paying — but I slowly realised it wasn’t what I truly wanted to do. When I told my mother that, she simply said, “Move back.”
Around that time, Vijay had just launched his clothing line, and I thought I’d return home and help him with that. But then someone approached my dad with the script of Dorasani. He read it, passed it on to me — and, as always, left the decision entirely to me. Looking back, I know I could take that leap because I had the kind of parents who stood by me no matter what. Their faith in me is what gave me the courage to begin.

He saw the actor in Vijay long before the rest of us did. He never pushed us, just gently nudged us toward what he believed we could become. Whether it was enrolling him in an acting workshop or bowling with me for hours — he always showed up. Quietly, patiently, without ever expecting anything back

I got to see a different side of him last year when we went on our first family vacation to New York. While we were walking in Central Park, he hugged us and said ‘You guys have some so far. I’m so proud.’ Life had come full circle

‘Whatever we’ve done, he’s been right behind us’
Two of the most important lessons I’ve learnt from my dad are to always put family first, and to stay practical — about life, work, everything. He just has so much innate love — and he shows it by being fully present. He’s involved in every aspect of our lives. He’s the single point of contact for everything in our production house. Recently, we bought a piece of land in our village, and he’s taken it upon himself to turn it into an organic farm. He believes that’s the future. That’s just who he is — steady, thoughtful, and always there, having our back. I got to see a different side of him last year when we went on our first family vacation to America. While we were walking in New York’s Central Park, he hugged us and said ‘You guys have some so far. I’m so proud.’ Life had come full circle. But I know it all began with the dream he once dared to chase.
Thank you, nanna — you dreamed for us before we even knew how to dream.


­— As told to Karthik Pasupulate




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