Vijayachander, (born Vijayachander Telidevara), is an Indian actor, director and producer, known for his works in

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

, and television. Regarded as one of the finest

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

's of Telugu cinema, Vijayachander has appeared in more than forty feature films in a variety of roles. Vijayachander is known for his path-breaking works in

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

s; He essayed

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

in the 1978 film ''

Karunamayudu ''Karunamayudu'' () is a 1978 Indian Telugu-language biographical film written and directed by A. Bhimsingh. It stars Vijayachander as Jesus of Nazareth. The film won two Nandi Awards, was notable for two song sequences narrating the Birth of ...

'' which he produced, and won the

Nandi Award for Best Feature Film This is the list of winners of the Nandi Award for Best Feature Films since 1964. Best Feature Film - Gold Second Best Feature Film - Silver Third Best Feature Film - Bronze References See also * Cinema of Andhra Pradesh {{DEFAULTSORT:Nan ...

; He then enacted his own maternal Grandfather Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu in the 1982 film '' Andhra Kesari'' for which he has received the state

Nandi Special Jury Award The Nandi Special Jury Award is given by the state government as part of its annual Nandi Awards for Telugu films since 1981. See also * Nandi Awards * Cinema of Andhra Pradesh References {{DEFAULTSORT:Nandi Special Jury Award Special Ju ...

. He then essayed

Sai Baba of Shirdi Sai Baba of Shirdi (c. 1838? - died 15 October 1918), also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was an Indian spiritual master and fakir, considered to be a saint, revered by both Hindu and Muslim devotees during and after his lifetime. According to a ...

in the 1986 classic '' Sri Shirdi Saibaba Mahathyam'' which was screened at the

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pla ...

; In the same year, he appeared as saint

Vemana Vemana, popularly known as Yogi Vemana, was an Indian philosopher and poet in the Telugu language. His poems are known for their use of simple language and native idioms. They discuss the subjects of yoga, wisdom and morality. Early life and ...

in the super hit ''Vemana Charithra''. In 1989, he starred in the

Maniratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six ...

directed

Romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

, ''

Geetanjali __NOTOC__ ''Gitanjali'' ( bn, গীতাঞ্জলি, lit='Song offering') is a collection of poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature, for the English translation, Gitanjali:''Song Offer ...

'', which won the

National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment The National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, India, and was constituted in the year 1975. This is one of the ''Golden ...

. He enacted the role of

Kabir Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das ...

in the 2003 film ''Kabirdas''. The 2006 Tamil film

Veyil ''Veyil'' ( en, Sunshine, italics=yes or ''Sun Blaze'') is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Vasanthabalan. Bharath and Pasupathy are the male leads whereas Bhavana, Priyanka and Sriya Reddy plays the female le ...

was screened at the 2007

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

in the "Tous Les Cinemas Du Monde" section. He received positive reviews for his performance in the social problem film Virodhi, which was screened at the Indian panorama section of the 2012 International Film Festival of India.

Personal life and family

He is the maternal grandson of brother of Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu. Yesteryear's

Telugu film Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...

singer

Tanguturi Suryakumari Tanguturi Suryakumari (13 November 1925 – 25 April 2005), also known by her married name Suryakumari Elvin, was an Indian singer, actress and dancer in Telugu cinema. She sang " Maa Telugu Thalliki", the official song of the State of Andhra P ...

was his maternal aunt.

Cinema

After a successful career in

Telugu theatre Telugu theatre is Indian theatre in the Telugu language, based in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Gurajada Apparao wrote the play, ''Kanyasulkam'' in 1892, which is often considered the greatest play in the Telugu language.20th Cent ...

, He made his acting debut in the film ''

Sudigundalu ''Sudigundalu'' () is a 1968 Indian Telugu-language philosophical film, produced by Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Adurthi Subba Rao under the Chakravarthy Chitra banner and directed by Adurthi Subba Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, and has musi ...

'' (1967), which won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several ...

for that year. In 2007, he has donated land for old film artists and Movie Artists Association.

Television

During 1996 to 1998, he was cast in a 50-episode serial titled ''Dayasagar'', which was telecast on

DD National DD National (formerly DD1) is a state-owned public entertainment television channel in India. It is the flagship channel of Doordarshan, India's public service broadcaster, and the oldest and most widely available terrestrial television channel ...

. The series was also dubbed into Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam and other languages.

Selected filmography

*''

'' - 1968 *''Maro Prapancham'' - 1970 *''Budhimanthudu'' - 1969 *''Rowdy Raani'' - 1971 *''Basthi Bulbul'' - 1972 *''C.I.D. Raju'' - 1972 *''Mavoori Monagadu'' - 1975 *''Pasivani Paga'' - 1975 *''

'' - 1978 *'' Rajadhi Raju'' - 1980 *'' Andhra Kesari'' - 1982 *'' Sri Shirdi Saibaba Mahathyam'' - 1986 *''Vemana Charithra'' - 1986 *''DAYAMAYUDU''-1987 *''Bhabali'' - 1987 *''Police Report'' - 1989 *'' Geetaanjali'' - 1989 *'' Jaitra Yatra'' - 1991 *'' Raat'' - 1992 *'' Aapad Bandhavudu'' - 1992 *'' Athma'' - 1993 *'' Big Boss'' - 1995 *'' Devi Lalithamba'' - 1996 *''Suputhrudu'' - 1997 *''

Bhadrachalam Bhadrachalam is a census town in Bhadradri Kothagudem district in the Indian state of Telangana. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage town with the Bhadrachalam Temple of Lord Rama, situated on the banks of Godavari river. It is located east o ...

'' - 2001 *''Kabirdas'' - 2003 *''

Ela Cheppanu ''Ela Cheppanu'' (English translation: ''How Should I Say?'') is a 2003 Indian Telugu-language film starring Tharun, Shriya Saran, and Vijayachander. The film was directed by B.V. Ramana. It is the remake of the Bollywood film ''Tum Bin''.htt ...

'' - 2003 *''

Pedababu ''Pedababu'' is a 2004 Indian Telugu-language action drama film, produced by M.L. Kumar Chowdary on Sri Keerthi Creations banner and directed by Paruchuri Murali. Starring Jagapathi Babu, Kalyani and music composed by Chakri. Sunil received ...

'' - 2004 *''

Veyyil ''Veyil'' ( en, Sunshine, italics=yes or ''Sun Blaze'') is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Vasanthabalan. Bharath and Pasupathy are the male leads whereas Bhavana, Priyanka and Sriya Reddy plays the female lea ...

'' - 2006 (Tamil) *'' Hanumanthu'' - 2006 *''

Relax Relax may refer to: Aviation * Roland Z-120 Relax, a German ultralight aircraft design for the 120 kg class Music Albums * ''Relax'' (Blank & Jones album), 2003 * ''Relax'' (Das Racist album), 2011 Songs * "Relax" (song), a 1983 song by Fran ...

'' - 2007 *''

Gamyam ''Gamyam'' () is a 2008 Indian Telugu-language road film written and directed by Krish. The film stars Allari Naresh, Sharwanand, and Kamalinee Mukherjee. Loosely inspired by '' The Motorcycle Diaries'' (2004), the plot follows the quest o ...

'' - 2008 *''

Three 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

'' - 2008 *''

Aa Okkadu Aa Okkadu is a 2009 Telugu action thriller film starring Ajay, Madhurima, and Suresh Gopi. The film is directed by N S Murthy and was released by Tolly 2 Holly Films on 5 June 2009. Mani Sharma composed the music. Plot Sri Krishna (Suresh Gopi ...

'' - 2009 *''

Ratnavali ''Ratnavali'' (Precious Garland) is a Sanskrit drama about a beautiful princess named Ratnavali, and a great king named Udayana. It is attributed to the Indian emperor Harsha (606–648). It is a Natika in four acts. One of the first textual r ...

'' - 2011 *'' Virodhi'' - 2011 *''

Aravaan ''Aravaan'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil language epic historical film directed by Vasanthabalan, based on Su. Venkatesan's novel ''Kaaval Kottam''. It was released in 2012 and stars Aadhi, Dhansika, Archana Kavi and Pasupathy. Kabir Bedi has ...

'' - 2012 (Tamil) *''

Anando Brahma Anando Brahma is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language comedy horror film written and directed by Mahi V Raghav, starring Tapasee Pannu, Srinivas Reddy, Shakalaka Shankar, and Vennela Kishore. Produced by Vijay Chilla and Shashi Devireddy, the film h ...

'' - 2017 *'' N.T.R: Kathanayakudu'' - 2019 *'' 118'' - 2019

Awards

;

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

(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 ...

) * Third Best Feature Film - Bronze - ''

'' (1978) * Special Jury Award - ''Andhra Kesari'' (1983)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Telugu male actors Tamil male actors Male actors from Hyderabad, India Indian male film actors Nandi Award winners Living people Telugu film producers Film producers from Hyderabad, India Andhra University alumni Indian male stage actors Male actors in Tamil cinema 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors 1949 births