Vijayashanti is an Indian actress who has starred in over 185 movies in seven languages including Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi. She was born in Rajahmundry , Andhra Pradesh , India
Background and career
Vijayashanti's given name was 'Shanti'. Her screen name was based her aunt Vijaya Lalitha, who was a veteran heroine in Telugu and Tamil films.
She began her acting career in 1979 at the age of 15 as the leading lady in the Tamil film Kallukkul Eeram ("Stones Have Tears") directed by the legendary Tamil film-maker Bharati Raja. The same year, she debuted in her native Telugu with the movie Kilaadi Krishnudu ('Cunning Krishna'), pairing opposite superstar Krishna .
For the first few years, she portrayed mostly glamour roles. Notable among them is her role in the Telugu film Satyam-Shivam (1981), the cast of which included the two legends of Telugu Cinema - NTR and ANR.
Vijayashanti's first break as a performer came in the 1983 Telugu film Neti Bharatam directed by T. Krishna. The next few years saw her in performance-oriented roles (Desamlo Dongalu Paddaaru, Vandemaataram, Pratighatana, Aruna kiranam ,Repati Pourulu, Devalayam, etc), and in glamorous roles (Challenge, Desodhdhaarakudu, Pasivaadi Praanam, Muddula Krishnaiah, Agni Parvatam, etc). By 1985 she was exclusively acting in Telugu films.