Devaraj (born 21 September 1953) is an Indian actor and theatre actor who works in Indian film industry. He has largely featured in Kannada films performing various roles as a lead character, supporting character and villainous character. He has also featured in Telugu and Tamil 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 and B. Jayashree. Devaraj has won several awards and accolades including the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor for his portrayal as the protagonist in the film Veerappan in 1991.
Early life Devaraj was born on 21 September 1953 to Ramachandrappa and Krishnamma in Lingarajpuram, a locality in Bangalore, in the erstwhile Mysore State (now Karnataka). His father worked in ITC Factory, Welfare department. Devaraj lost his father when he was three months old to malaria. In 1976, due to his family's financial problems, Devaraj decided to work in a HMT Watch factory, in the case and dial department, where he worked for nine years. During this time, he was suggested to act in dramas by a senior colleague, Govindaraju. Consequently, Devaraj joined R.Nagesh's theatre group, before joining the B. Jayashree's group Spandana and later Shankar Nag's Sanket. Devaraj's film debut came in 1985, where he played a supporting role in Trishula. He continued to appear as a supporting actor, then acted in leading roles.
Career
Devaraj auditioned for Trishula with Avinash, both of whom were part of a same theatre troupe. They 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 in 1986. After the success of 27 Mavalli Circle 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 Tamil and Telugu film industries. He worked in highly acclaimed films such as Malaikottai 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.
Filmography
Kannada YearTitle Role Note(s)1985ThrishulaVinod198627 Mavalli CircleGundaPreethiSrikanth1987AaganthukaChandruKarnataka State Film Award for Best Supporting ActorAnthima TheerpuRavana RajyaKendada MaleDance Raja DanceBandha MukthaSangaramaAapadbhandava1988ArjunSambhavami Yuge YugeNavabharathaElu Suttina KoteSamyukthaCameo appearanceJana NayakaNarasimhaSangliyanaVikramAnjada GanduSundarRamanna ShamannaKrishna RukminiDaadaMichealNee Nanna DaivaMeenakshi Mane Meshtru1989Yuddha KaandaJ. D. PatilTarkaRithwik KumarHrudaya GeetheJockeyAmanushaAvathara PurushaSureshIndrajithFernandesHathya KaandaFirst lead roleDevaRamarajHendthighelbediCID Inspector PrathapC.B.I. ShankarAmarIdu SaadhyaRaviPoli Huduga1990Nammoora HammeraRanabheriDavidS. P. Sangliyana Part 2VikramThrinetraShankarAaveshaSub-inspector A. PrathapBannada GejjeDeluxePolicena HendthiAvatari LokayyaPrathapDevuUtkarshaRajesh SharmaCollege HeroPoli Kitty1991Sundara KandaKadanaIde Police BeltRollcall RamakrishnaInspector DevarajS. P. BhargaviShankarVeerappanKarnataka State Film Award for Best ActorAranyadalli AbhimanyuShwetagniVeera DheeraGruha PraveshaMathru BhagyaMadanNagini1992ChitralekhaPruthvirajPruthviraj / KeerthirajGoonda RajyaNanna ThangiPolice FileBhale KeshavaRoshagaraInspector VijayPrajegalu PrabhugaluGharshane1993Bahaddur HennuVinodRajakeeyaSidukabeda SingariAbhijithGolibaarArjunVijaya KranthiMojina MaduveJailor JagannathThyagarajHosa Love Story1994Time BombPrathapAdhipathiGold MedalSubhashLooti GangMayor PrabhakarLockup DeathAmarVijaya KankanaShankarCurfewDCP PradeepHettha KaruluIndianNyayakkagi Saval1995KidnapKiller DiaryInspector Pratap / Golibar GovindaMother IndiaState RowdySamaraRaviPolice PowerPuttamalluRevenge1996EmergencyVeerabhadraCircle InspectorHuliyaHuliyaSimhadriBangarada ManeKempu Mugilu1997ChoobanaGandedhe BhairaYuddhaSangliyana Part 3SangliyanaManava 20221998High CommandJai HindAgnisakshiDayadiKarnataka PoliceHemanth1999AryabhataRiyazTharikere YerimeleMr. XHabbaDevuGarudaDurga ShaktiOm Shakti2000MinchuDandanayakaNarasimha NayakaAstraSharathBhoomiKathlaBilla RangaNaxaliteBannada Hejje2001Mathadana Sadaravalli Markandeya GowdaPrema RajyaJenu GooduKanoonuSathyameva JayatheKotigobbaAmarNeelambariBharathHaalu Sakkare2002Dharma DevatheKambalahalliMalla2003Hey Nan Bheeshma KanoBheeshma, KrishnaDual rolesYaardo Duddu Yellammana JathreLankesh PatrikeACP RamuTada KhaidiPrathidwaniThalwarMarket RajaInspector JayasimhaKhakiInspector Dinakar2004Avale Nanna GelathiDevasuraCrime StoryGowdruRudrappa GowdaMauryaPrathapJyeshtaDevu2005Deadly SomaB. B. Ashok Kumar2006NidhiChellataRudraPandavaruDevannaKallarali HoovagiHyder Ali2007Bhanamathi2008GajaDevendraPrachanda RavanaNanda Deepa2009Veera MadakariPolice commissionerIPC Section 300Mallikarjun2010AnischithaSchool MasterPorkiACP Abdul Azem Sher KhanAparadhiMeshtruNarayanaGandedheShankare GowdaGang LeaderDeadly-2Vishwajeet Deshmukh2011Jolly BoyGopalaswamyChinnada Thali Mr. Duplicate RamuAidondla AiduAacharyaJarasandhaAjay Deshpande2012DashamukhaDevaraj2013Cauvery Nagara2015RannaPrakashArjunaCBI officer2016Preethiyalli SahajaNithya Jothe SathyaRun AntonyNazeem KhanKarvvaTilak's fatherKotigobba 2Orphanage ownerMukunda MurariRetired advocateSanthu Straight ForwardSanthosh's fatherSundaranga JaanaPanduranga Rao2017JindaaYugapurushaTarakTarak RamOnce More KauravaMuftiRaghuveer Bhandri2018Hebbet RamakkaKalleshannaTagaruACP Ramachandra2019 GeethaShankarYajamanaGurikar Huliyappa NayakaSIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actor – KannadaAmarBobby's fatherOdeyaSrinivas Odeyar2021RoberrtSathyadev2022Head BushD. Devaraj UrsBanarasAjay Simha2023PrajarajyaJayaprakashTatsama TadbhavaCameoRaja MarthandaRaja's father 2024Bhairathi RanagalRaghuveer Bhandari 2025 Just Married Poornachandra 2026 Shesha 2016 Deputy superintendent of police Terror Rakesh Gaikwad
Telugu YearFilmRoleNotes1990 20va Sathabdam Suryam Prema Yuddham Ranjith Kaliyuga AbhimanyuduBhagawan Neti Siddhartha Bhillu 1991 Yerra Mandaram Jagganna Dora 1993 Bangaru Bullodu Nana Varasudu Narendra 1994 S. P. Parasuram Rayappa Anna 1999 Samarasimha Reddy Veera Raghava Reddy's son 2004 Yagnam Redappa 2005 Sri Bhikshapati 2006 Raam Rahim 2007 Yogi Evadaithe Nakenti Chakravarthi Lakshyam DIG Hari Narayan 2009 Naa Style Veru Parvathy's uncle 2018 Bharat Ane Nenu Sripathi Rao 2023Salaar: Part 1 – CeasefireOm
Tamil YearFilmRoleNotes 1988 Pillaikkaga 2007 Malaikottai Palani 2009 Villu Shaan 2019 NGK Killivazhavan
Awards Nandi Award for Best Villain - Erra Mandaram(in Telugu) 9th SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actor for Yajamana
References
External links