Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna traveled to Thummanpet village in Achampet Mandal, Telangana, on Saturday to personally award merit scholarships to 180 government school students through The Deverakonda Foundation. The visit marked the couple’s return to the village where Vijay’s father was born and raised, and fulfilled a pledge they made during a housewarming ceremony shortly after their February wedding in Udaipur.
The scholarship recipients are first and second rank holders from Classes 9 and 10 across 44 government schools in the Achampet constituency of Nagarkurnool district. The Deverakonda Foundation will cover the complete educational expenses of the selected students, enabling them to continue their studies without financial interruption. The foundation announced the program earlier this year, and Saturday’s ceremony was the formal distribution of the awards to the beneficiaries.
Vijay addressed the students and their families at the ceremony, describing the initiative as a modest beginning with broader ambitions. “Giving you this small scholarship gift is very small,” he said. “But I feel it is important for us. I want to be a part of your lives.” He added that his long-term vision was to expand the program beyond Achampet, first to neighboring Nagarkurnool and eventually across the state. “Slowly, after my village, I want this move to happen across Telangana. This is my dream.”
Rashmika, who introduced herself at the event as “Rashmika Mandanna Deverakonda,” spoke to the students about perseverance. “Sometimes we win, sometimes we fail, but we learn each time,” she told the gathering. “Grow well by learning from parents and teachers.” Videos from the ceremony, including one showing Rashmika wiping sweat from Vijay’s face during the outdoor event, circulated widely on social media and drew warm responses from fans who praised the couple’s visible comfort with rural life, according to Outlook India.
The visit to Thummanpet carried personal significance for Vijay, who has spoken publicly about his family’s roots in the village. His father grew up there before moving to Hyderabad, and Vijay’s connection to the area has become a recurring theme in his public appearances since his marriage. The couple first visited the village together in February for a Satyanarayana Vratam puja and grihapravesam ceremony at a newly constructed family home, during which they announced plans to support deserving students from the region.
Vijay and Rashmika married on February 26, 2026, in Udaipur, in a ceremony that brought together figures from Telugu cinema’s biggest families, including the Akkineni dynasty, as well as Bollywood actors and producers. Their relationship, which both parties kept private for years despite persistent media speculation, was confirmed only shortly before the wedding. Since the marriage, they have increasingly used their combined public profile to draw attention to social causes, with the scholarship program being the most tangible initiative to date.
The Deverakonda Foundation, which Vijay established to channel his philanthropic efforts, has previously focused on smaller, less publicized acts of community support. The scholarship program represents its first large-scale, structured initiative with measurable outcomes. By targeting 44 schools across a single constituency, the foundation has created a model that could be replicated in other districts if the expansion proceeds as Vijay described. The focus on merit-based selection for students in the critical transition years of 9th and 10th grade addresses a well-documented dropout point in India’s public education system.
The event also reflected the growing trend of Indian film stars using their platforms for direct community engagement rather than traditional charity models. Where earlier generations of actors channeled philanthropy through political connections or large institutional donations, younger stars like Vijay have increasingly opted for hands-on involvement in specific communities, much like the legacy of direct engagement that fans continue to celebrate around actors like Sushant Singh Rajput. The personal nature of Saturday’s ceremony, held in Vijay’s own ancestral village rather than a city auditorium, underscored the shift.
Vijay is next expected on screen in a project that remains untitled, while Rashmika has multiple Hindi and Telugu releases in various stages of production. Their public appearance at Thummanpet, reported by ANI and regional outlets across Telangana, is likely to remain one of the most discussed moments of their post-wedding public life, not for the glamour typically associated with celebrity appearances but for the simplicity of two of India’s biggest film stars sitting in a village school and handing scholarships to teenagers.
