Vijay-Deverakonda--The-Odd-One-OutIt has been an unbelievable year for the emerging star of the second tier Vijay Deverakonda. From the highest to the lowest to the biggest surprises, he has seen it all in one year. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say Vijay Deverakonda was the most happening actor in Telugu cinema this year.

It started with a backlog release (Ye Mantram Vesave) and continued with a supporting part (Mahanati). Then there was a long postponement (Taxiwala) which was followed by unexpected leaks. Post- all these, there was an unimaginable blockbuster (Geetha Govindam) and immediately followed by a disaster (NOTA). Finally, it all ended with a miraculous hit. Phew!

What’s important now is that Vijay Deverakonda’s forthcoming slate is clean now. There are no backlogs to arrive and no leaks, thankfully. The entire focus is now on the content he picks, and that’s where he stands as an odd one out among his segment in Telugu cinema.

All of his films, irrespective of their success, have been narrative-based with very least formulaic presence. It is the stories that are hooking the audience along with the performance.

Another major plus is, for a college and youth-centric love stories, Vijay Deverakonda seems to be the only option. All the actors in his bracket have cinematically grown out and don’t fit the parts. Their running to the mass glory has given Vijay a unique edge. Nani is the other choice, but he too has been taking a formulaic approach rather than organic narrative-based stories and parts.

The forthcoming slate of films of Vijay Deverakonda indicates that the star too knows of his strength and is working on it. It will be a considerably long gap now, post-Taxiwala, but rest assured there will be a bang when the time arrives for Dear Comrade. A big 2019, could push Vijay to a unanimous number 1 position among his competitors.