Devaraj

Devaraj was born on 21 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 three months old to malaria. In 1976, due to his family's financial problems, Devaraj decided to work in a HMT Watch factory, in the case and dial department, where he worked for nine years. During this time, he was suggested to act in dramas by a senior colleague, Govindaraju. Consequently, Devaraj joined R.Nagesh's theatre group, before joining the B. Jayashree's group Spandana and later Shankar Nag's Sanket. Devaraj's film debut came in 1985, where he played a supporting role in Trishula. He continued to appear as a supporting actor, then acted in leading roles. ==Career==

(left), Devaraj (center) Devaraj auditioned for Trishula with Avinash, both of whom were part of a same theatre troupe. They got through the auditions and the film was his debut as an actor. However, the film did not release. 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. ==Personal life==

In 1986, Devaraj married actress Chandralekha, whom he had met on the sets of his film Sikku. ==Filmography==

Kannada Telugu Tamil ==Awards==

• Nandi Award for Best Villain - Erra Mandaram • 9th SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actor for Yajamana ==References==