Vijayachander, (born Vijayachander Telidevara), is an Indian actor, director and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television. Regarded as one of the finest character actor'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 films; He essayed Jesus of Nazareth in the 1978 film Karunamayudu which he produced, and won the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film; 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.
He then essayed Sai Baba of Shirdi in the 1986 classic Sri Shirdi Saibaba Mahathyam which was screened at the International Film Festival of India; In the same year, he appeared as saint Vemana in the super hit Vemana Charithra. In 1989, he starred in the Maniratnam directed Romantic drama film, Geetanjali, which won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. He enacted the role of Kabir in the 2003 film Kabirdas. The 2006 Tamil film Veyil was screened at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival 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 singer Tanguturi Suryakumari was his maternal aunt.
Cinema
After a successful career in Telugu theatre, He made his acting debut in the film Sudigundalu (1967), which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu 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. The series was also dubbed into Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam and other languages.
Selected filmography
Sudigundalu - 1968
Maro Prapancham - 1970
Budhimanthudu - 1969
Rowdy Raani - 1971
Basthi Bul Bul - 1971...Prakash and Premnath
C.I.D. Raju - 1972
Mavoori Monagadu - 1975
Pasivani Paga - 1975
Karunamayudu - 1978
Rajadhi Raju - 1980
Andhra Kesari - 1983
Sri Shirdi Saibaba Mahathyam - 1986
Vemana Charithra - 1986
DAYAMAYUDU-1987
Bhabali - 1987
Police Report - 1989
Geetaanjali - 1989
State Rowdy - 1989
Jaitra Yatra - 1991
Raat - 1992
Aapad Bandhavudu - 1992
Athma - 1993
Mounam- 1995
Big Boss - 1995
Devi Lalithamba - 1996
Suputhrudu - 1997
Bhadrachalam - 2001
Kabirdas - 2003
Ela Cheppanu - 2003
Pedababu - 2004
Relax - 2005
Sada Mee Sevalo - 2005
Veyyil - 2006 (Tamil) Hanumanthu - 2006 Gamyam - 2008 Three - 2008 Aa Okkadu - 2009 Ratnavali - 2011 Virodhi - 2011 Aravaan - 2012 (Tamil) Anando Brahma - 2017 N.T.R: Kathanayakudu - 2019 118 - 2019 Natho Nenu - 2023
Awards
Nandi Awards
Third Best Feature Film - Bronze - Karunamayudu (1978) Special Jury Award - Andhra Kesari (1983)