There was a time when Rajasekhar Varadharajan was seen by most in the film industry as unfit for being cast as a male lead. It was then that director T Krishna saw in this youngster a versatile actor. It didn't take long for people to see a promising angry young man in who would come to be called Rajasekhar.

Speaking at the trailer launch of 'Garuda Vega', Babu Rao (a long-time senior to Rajasekhar) said, "I had advised Krishna tooth and nail against casting Rajasekhar in 'Vande Mataram'. Who would be fine with making a person with a diction and accent like this a hero? But Krishna thought otherwise. He said to me that Rajasekhar's expressive visage will take him a long way. I myself later worked with him six times."

'Vande Mataram', released in 1985, was the actor's debut. Popular for C Narayana Reddy's angst-ridden song 'Vande Mataram', the revolutionary film was instrumental in positioning Rajasekhar as an earnest actor. Rest, as they say, is history.