Devaraj

Devaraj was born on 20 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 3 months old as he was suffering from malaria. In 1976 due to his family's financial problems Devaraj decided to work in a HMT Watch factory, Case & Dial Section, where he worked for 9 years, and it was suggested he should act in dramas by his senior colleague at HMT, Govindaraju.{{cite web |title=Weekend with Ramesh Season 2 Episode 7 - 16 January, 2016 |url=https://www.zee5.com/tvshows/details/witness-an-inspiration-journey/0-6-191/weekend-with-ramesh-season-2-episode-7-january-16-2016-full-episode/0-1-45370 |website=www.zee5.com |publisher=Zee Digital |access-date= 16 November 2016}} Firstly Devaraj joined R.Nagesh's theatre group, later he joined B. Jayashree's theatre group SPANDANA and later on with Shankar Nag's SANKET. His film debut was as a supporting actor in 'Trishula'. He continued to appear as a supporting actor, then acted in leading roles.

File:Ravi Srivatsa with Devraj.jpg (left), Devaraj (center)]]

Devaraj auditioned for Trishula with Avinash, both of whom were part of a same theatre troupe. Both got through the auditions and the film was his debut as an actor. However, the film did not release.{{cite AV media | people=Devaraj | date=28 October 2014 | title=Nam Kathe Nim Jyothe - Episode - 3 - 5.4.14 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlbJd-egEjk | location=India | publisher=Zee Kannada | access-date=28 October 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309112041/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlbJd-egEjk | archive-date=9 March 2016 | url-status=live }} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1117900/|title=Devaraj|publisher=IMDb.com|access-date=26 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104053023/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1117900/|archive-date=4 January 2013|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web |first=A |last=Sharadhaa |url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/kannada/Devraj-Brothers-Share-Screen-Space/2014/10/07/article2464988.ece |title=Devraj Brothers Share Screen Space |date=7 October 2014 |access-date=3 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216171410/http://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/kannada/Devraj-Brothers-Share-Screen-Space/2014/10/07/article2464988.ece |archive-date=16 December 2014 |url-status=dead }}

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• Nandi Award for Best Villain - Erra Mandaram{{Cite web |url=http://ipr.ap.nic.in/New_Links/Film.pdf|title=నంది అవార్డు విజేతల పరంపర (1964–2008)|trans-title=A series of Nandi Award Winners (1964–2008)|publisher=Information & Public Relations of Andhra Pradesh|access-date=21 August 2020}}(in Telugu)
• 9th SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actor for Yajamana

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Category:Living people

Category:1953 births

Category:20th-century Indian male actors

Category:Male actors from Bengaluru

Category:Male actors in Kannada cinema

Category:Male actors in Telugu cinema

Category:Indian male film actors

Category:Male actors in Tamil cinema

Category:21st-century Indian male actors