HYDERABAD: He is devoted to taking risks both personally and professionally. He is evocative, ethereal and eclectic. He doesn’t believe in mincing words neither does he know how to mask himself with societal set image of a good boy. Ask him why he had used abusive words in his previous movie, he nonchalantly counter questions if we all as humans don’t cuss when someone messes with us? “I do it and the same goes with the movie,” he says. He is like one of us and may be that’s why his Instagram account didn’t take minutes to earn half a million followers.
This young thespian believes in investing time on acting and not marketing his work. His ambition is to see a day when people hear his name and head to the theatre and not wait for any ballyhoo. Vijay Dervarkonda, the icon of most millennials and post millennials is going to age an year older today and also a few movies. His acting soul is now going to move from Arjun Reddy’s body to Taxiwala’s body. Wondering why we skipped Mahanati? Because Vijay feels he is just playing a supporting role and the movie is shouldered by lead actress.
He is proud of himself for being in a stage where he can help a project like Mahanati with his contribution. He says he shares a beautiful bond with Nag Ashwin, the director of the aforementioned movie. “My role is a tiny one but it is the thread that brings the movie together. I am a support system to Madhuravani (Samantha),” he adds. He quips that Samantha was ‘full chill’ and there was no senior-junior demarcation.
VD was approached to do the Gemini Ganeshan role when Dulquer Salman couldn’t give his dates. This hunk was skeptical of taking it up as he was hard pressed for time and also felt he would need a lot of time to do the homework as it is a real character. He didn’t want to say no to the offer either. “I started watching the old films to observe the body language. I understood it was challenging. I was in a quandary. Three days later, Nagi called and said Dulquer agreed. I breathed a sigh of relief. I wouldn’t have been able to accommodate,” he laughs resting his arms on the back of his shoulders.
“If you want to compare my performances, compare between Arjun Reddy and Taxiwala. It is a laughter riot. I am sure people are going to have a blast,” he says confidently.
Vijay made his breakfast, a working one while he managed to give an exclusive interview to Hyderabad Express. As the discussion rolls on, he says Mahanati was a breeze. “I had to shoot for eight days. I had to wear period costumes and have fun,” he tells, while supplementing his statement that Taxiwala was taxing in terms of toll it took on my body. “A lot of the film happened in the night. The shoot would start in the evening and go on till next morning or sometimes it would start in the morning and go on till next morning. It is about a taxi driver and his reactions to different situations,” shares the taxiwala.
Talking about the take-away memories, VD says his good friend Vishnu is making his debut in this film as his friend and the amount of fun they had together on the sets will be carved in his heart forever. “The entire crew is really young. We had raised a huge garage in Rama Naidu studio. We used to play cricket, order a buffet of food on Swiggy. We would all sit in someone’s caravan and hang out,” he recalls.
His choice of scripts has been one of his strengths. Speaking about Taxiwala’s script, he says he heard it first and laughed out loud. The next time we had a script hearing session with the actress, I could see them roll on the floor laughing. I am sure the audience are also going to have the same amount of fun. I do films that I enjoy,” the young brat shares.
Says Vijay, “I am impulsive while choosing films. If I love the script, I say yes and later land in trouble in giving dates because I am already working in a bunch of movies.”
While the fire brand guy learns his dialogues in Telugu in just a matter of three minutes, says he takes two days to grasp Tamil dialogues for his next film NOTA. “Once I am done with my shoot at 6.30pm, I head to room, freshen up and work on learning my dialouges. I need to know what I am saying and understand before I utter them. I am young and have the energy to push my boundaries and jump out of my comfort zone. I feel extremely satisfying after I am done with my shoot. I feel empowered that I could perform with equal charisma in an other language,” he shares. “I am nailing it!” he smiles with confidence.
The organic actor wishes he could become a kid again, where he need not do anything but watch TV, play and care about anything. “Although I am having fun in what I am doing now, there is a lot that goes into it. It is not carefree job. I am always working with young, budding talents and not big names. I have to put in a lot of effort till the movies gets out. Some days I just miss being idle and watching TV pointlessly, sit with friends and chill,” he giggles.
There is one thing that he loves, which gen X doesn’t like. Guess what? He wants to get rid of his phone. “I want to see a day where I don’t need a phone. There is lot of work that happens through phone now. I hope to become successful enough to not have a phone in hand and yet get my work done,” the free-spirited guy shares.
This maverick’s off day is all about giving interviews, meeting people,manage to hit the gym and plan for the next day, schedule his time in prior because others’ time is also linked to his. “Once I am done with the promotions, I have to learn my dialogues for NOTA, then I have to plan my next movie script too. Time flies like this…,” he says, snapping his fingers.
The easy-breezy boy of Tollywood has bought a house post his success. “Since childhood, we have lived in rented spaces. It was my mom’s dream to live in a own house. I have grown up hearing my mom describe how she wanted her own house to be. So I made my first investment in a house. My dad takes cares of my finances. I want my dad to live forever. If a day comes, where I have to deal with finances and all, I can’t. My dad has everything sorted and in the meanwhile I have fun. I want it continue,” he says in a slightly serious tone.
VD recently came back from a six-day vacation in Thailand. He next plans for a trip to Europe and Africa. He is hoping to travel all around the world.
Ask him about his bucket list, pat comes the reply, “I don’t want to die. So, I don’t have a bucket list,” he concludes with a selfie and a boomerang video.