Over the last couple of years, Vijay Deverakonda has got first-hand experience of what it’s like to live and work in Mumbai. However, the actor, who’s making his Bollywood debut with Puri Jagannadh’s Liger, says he continues to work at his own speed in the fast-paced world of Bollywood. “We Hyderabadis are generally laid-back people. We’re very professional, of course, but we like to work at a certain pace. In Mumbai, it’s the opposite. Everything there happens much faster, people are always on the move and they’re at it all the time,” says Vijay, adding, “I consider myself as the relaxed Hyderabadi in the fast-paced world of Mumbai. I tell them that I’m a lazy, laid-back boy from Hyderabad and I like to do things at my own pace. I go to Mumbai do my work and like to come back to Hyderabad.”

One of the things that makes Vijay stand out from his peers is the unique relationship that he shares with his fans — he refers to them as ‘rowdies’ and often gives a personal touch while interacting with them. “I think it came (his equation with his fans) from how I started my journey as an actor. I just got out of college, I did a bit of theatre and I was just 25 when I did my first film. I was this boy who struggled for tickets in single screens. I’d bunk college and go watch movies.”

Vijay says, “My friends and I would be the first guys at the theatre, because college would start before cinemas opened. We’d be sitting there waiting for box-office counters to open and keep one eye open all the time, hoping nobody from our family will spot us there.” The Arjun Reddy star adds, “When you live that life for so long and then become an actor, you look at the audience in a different way. I always looked at audiences coming to watch me as kids my age. You know, college kids. So, I never felt like there was an actor-audience rapport. I felt like I just happened to be an actor and my friends are watching me.”

With his new-found pan-India presence, Vijay admits that things are different from what they were when he first started out. “For the longest time, I didn’t feel like an actor or a celebrity. But slowly as you get more attention and the spotlight falls on you a lot more than usual, you become guarded, because it’s all so overwhelming. But the rapport that I have with my audience remains the same,” he signs off.