Vijay Deverakonda, speaking at the pre-release event of the Telugu film ‘Romanchakam’, opened up about his close relationship with filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga and the financial sacrifices made by Vanga’s family to bring their first collaboration, ‘Arjun Reddy’, to the screen.

The actor, who attended the event as chief guest, recalled that during the making of the 2017 film, Sandeep’s family took a big financial risk. In a video shared by PR Vamsi Kaka on X, Vijay said, “When there was no money, Sandeep, Pranay Anna, and Prabhakar Uncle mortgaged their farmland to make the film out of trust in Sandeep. Sandeep, trusting me, had them invest and made the movie. Honestly, that's like stakes that are so high—you put your entire family's earnings and your future on one film.”

Vijay also reflected on the difficult period while making ‘Arjun Reddy’, which became a major critical and commercial success and established him as a prominent star in Telugu cinema. He said, “Back then, we went to war together. We didn't know what we were doing. Had the film not worked out, we would have gone crazy. Both of us didn't have money. We did not have influence. We didn't have any pull. There were no fans at that time because Pellichoopulu hadn't released then.”

Describing his bond with Sandeep, Vijay said, “I can't express the love I have for Sandeep in words. It's not just a director-actor relationship. It's not just a brother relationship or a friend relationship. It's something else.” He added, “Sandeep would go to any extent for me, and I would go to any extent for him. With all these audio functions and him saying thank you, the truth is, if I didn't show up when he called, my life wouldn't be worth living. So, I love him more than he will ever know, and I will always be there.”

The actor also spoke warmly about Sumanth Prabhas, one of the leads in ‘Romanchakam’, saying, “I had seen the passion the young boy had for cinema and knew that he would go on to become an actor or director.” He wished the entire team of the film all the best.

‘Romanchakam’, directed by Venu Gopal Reddy and produced by Pranay Reddy Vanga, is presented by Sandeep Reddy Vanga under the Bhadrakali Pictures banner. The film features Sumanth Prabhas, Ananthika Sanilkumar, Upendra Limaye, Venkatesh Kakumanu, Narendra Ravi, Mani Aegurla and Sai Sohan in key roles, with music by Vasuki Vaibhav and cinematography by Pavan Pappula. It is scheduled for a worldwide theatrical release on September 3.

Meanwhile, Sandeep Reddy Vanga is preparing for ‘Spirit’, his upcoming film starring Prabhas. Vijay Deverakonda is currently working on ‘Ranabaali’ and will also appear in ‘Rowdy Janardhana’ and a film tentatively titled ‘VDxShouryuv’ with ‘Hi Nanna’ director Shouryuv.