Vijay Deverakonda has been a national heartthrob for a while now. However, the addition of ‘THE’ to his name left even his fans somewhat disappointed. While it is a common culture in the South Indian film industry to carry iconic titles such as ‘Thalapathy’ and ‘Thalaivar’, the change to Vijay’s name didn’t go as he had hoped. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Vijay addressed the criticism and expressed his discomfort with labels like ‘Southern sensation’.
Vijay Deverakonda reacts to the backlash on his name
In a recent conversation, Vijay Devrakonda reflected on the situation and shared that there was a ‘crazy’ amount of backlash to the addition of ‘THE’ to his name. He noted how he was not the first one to do so. However, he received criticism for something that was a comparatively common practice. He shared how he was probably the only one without a tagline, and yet when he opted for one, it blew up against him. He was quoted as saying:
“That was a whole situation in itself. There was a crazy amount of backlash because ‘The’ was added to my name. Interestingly, no other person has ever received backlash for something like that. You can have any name—from Universal Star to People’s Star—and people younger than me, older than me, those who debuted before me, everyone has a tagline. I was probably the only one without one. Nobody else gets backlash.”
The actor in the same conversation revealed that it was during the promotion of his film, Liger, alongside Ananya Panday, when his team encouraged him to adopt a tag. He added that several people have already begun coining a title for him, so despite his initial hesitation, he eventually gave in, noting that the media had started referring to him as the ‘Southern sensation’, the ‘Rowdy star’, and other monikers. He was quoted as saying:
“Then they (his team) said, ‘We’ll use this Southern sensation,’ and I replied, ‘I’m not a Southern sensation, I’m from India. I want to be known by India, at the very least, someday.’ I felt everything was limiting. I want to be known as Vijay Deverakonda, and if you do need a tag, ‘The’ is enough. But people were like, ‘How can you put ‘The’?’ I was like, the whole point of ‘The’ was that I didn’t want a tag. If people don’t want it, chop it off.”
Vijay Deverakonda has decided to remove ‘THE’ from his name
In the same conversation, Vijay Deverakonda revealed that he has decided to remove ‘THE’ from his name. He confirmed that he will not be credited as ‘The Vijay Deverakonda’ in his upcoming film, Kingdom. While there is no guarantee how his fans will react to the change, the actor has decided to focus on his work and move forward.
Vijay Deverakonda’s upcoming film, Kingdom
Kingdom is a Telugu-language spy action thriller. The film is written and directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri and produced by S. Naga Vamsi and Sai Soujanya under the banners of Sithara Entertainments and Fortune Four Cinemas. Along with Vijay Deverakonda, the film also stars Satyadev and Bhagyashri Borse. The film is planned as a duology, and its first instalment is scheduled to release in cinemas on July 31, 2025.
What are your thoughts on Vijay Deverakonda’s revelations?
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