Devaraj (born 20 September 1953) is an Indian

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

theatre actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

who works in Indian film industry. He has largely featured in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

films performing various roles as a lead character, supporting character and villainous character. He has also featured in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

films. Having worked in over 200 feature films, Devaraj is popularly referred to as a "Dynamic Hero" in the Kannada film industry. Prior to acting in films, Devaraj performed in stage plays under the guidance of

Shankar Nag Shankar Nagarakatte (9 November 1954 – 30 September 1990) was an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work in Kannada-language films and television. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, Nag is often referred to as ...

and

B. Jayashree B. Jayashree (born 9 June 1950) is a veteran Indian theatre actress, director and singer, who has also acted in films and television and worked as dubbing artist in films. She is the creative director of Spandana Theatre, an amateur theatre co ...

. Devaraj has won several awards and accolades including the

Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor is a state film award of the Indian state of Karnataka given during the annual Karnataka State Film Awards. The award honours Kannada Language films. Superlatives Recipients The first recipient was ...

for his portrayal as the protagonist in the film ''Veerappan'' in 1991.

Early life

Devaraj was born on 20 September 1953 to Ramachandrappa and Krishnamma in Lingarajpuram, a locality in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, in the erstwhile

Mysore State Mysore State, colloquially Old Mysore, was a state within the Dominion of India and the later Republic of India from 1947 until 1956. The state was formed by renaming the Kingdom of Mysore, and Bangalore replaced Mysore as the state's capital. ...

(now

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

). His father worked in ITC Factory, Welfare department. Devaraj lost his father when he was 3 months old as he was suffering from

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. In 1976 due to his family's financial problems Devaraj decided to work in a HMT Watch factory, Case & Dial Section, where he worked for 9 years, and it was suggested he should act in dramas by his senior colleague at HMT, Govindaraju. Firstly Devaraj joined R.Nagesh's theatre group, later he joined

's theatre group ''SPANDANA'' and later on with

's ''SANKET''. His film debut was as a supporting actor in 'Trishula'. He continued to appear as a supporting actor, then acted in leading roles.

Career

Devaraj auditioned for ''Trishula'' with

Avinash Avinash Yelandur (born 22 December 1959) is an Indian actor who stars predominantly in South Indian language films, notably in the Kannada and Tamil film industries. He has been in the industry for two decades and has acted in over 200 films. Kn ...

, both of whom were part of a same theatre troupe. Both got through the auditions and the film was his debut as an actor. However, the film did not release. His first released film was ''

27 Mavalli Circle ''27 Mavalli Circle'' is a 1986 Indian Kannada language thriller film directed, written, produced and enacted by T. N. Narasimhan. The film is adapted from Narasimhan's stage play of the same name which starred Lohithaswa in the lead role. The ...

'' in 1986. After the success of ''

'' Devaraj acted in many more films mainly in supporting roles. His notable performances include: His First Hero Leading Role In Hatyakanda In 1989. Upnext ''Aaganthuka'', ''Navabharatha'', ''Indrajith'' among others. After the year 2000, Devaraj switched over to character roles and debuted in

and

film industries. He worked in highly acclaimed films such as ''

Malaikottai ''Malaikottai'' () is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Boopathy Pandian. The film stars Vishal and Priyamani, while Devaraj, Ajay, Ashish Vidyarthi, and Urvashi play supporting roles. The music was composed by ...

'' and '' Villu'' in Tamil and '' Yagnam'', ''Sri'' in Telugu.

Personal life

In 1986, Devaraj married actress Chandralekha, whom he had met on the sets of his film ''Sikku''. Following this, they appeared together in the 1992 film ''Kendada Male''. After their marriage, Chandralekha quit acting. They have two sons, Prajwal and Pranam. Both sons are active in the Kannada film industry, with Prajwal having established himself as a lead actor.

Notable filmography

Kannada

Telugu

Tamil

*''

Pillaikkaga ''Pillaikkaga'' () is a 1989 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by P. Vasu, produced by Mohan Natarajan and Tharangai V. Shanmugam under Rajakaliamman Pictures starring Prabhu, Gautami, Nassar and Rekha. The film has musical ...

'' (1988) *''

'' (2007) *'' Villu'' (2009) *'' NGK'' (2019)

Awards

Nandi Award for Best Villain The Nandi Award for Best Villain winners since 1985: See also * Nandi Awards * Cinema of Andhra Pradesh References {{DEFAULTSORT:Nandi Award For Best Villain Villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine fo ...

Erra Mandaram ''Erra Mandaram'' ( Red Hibiscus) is a 1991 Telugu film, produced by Pokuri Venkateswara Rao under the Eetharam Films banner and directed by Muthyala Subbaiah. It stars Rajendra Prasad, Yamuna and music composed by Chakravarthy. The entire mo ...

(in

) * 9th SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actor for Yajamana

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Devaraj Living people 1953 births 20th-century Indian male actors Male actors from Bangalore Male actors in Kannada cinema Male actors in Telugu cinema Indian male film actors Male actors in Tamil cinema 21st-century Indian male actors