Vijayashanti was born in Madras, Madras State on 24 June 1965 to Varalaxmi and Srinivas Prasad, who migrated to Madras from Ramannagudem in Warangal district, Telangana. She has said that she prefers to think of herself as being from Telangana rather than Madras, although as of 2004 she had never visited her parents' village. Vijayashanti began her acting career at the age of 13, playing the leading lady in the Tamil film Kallukkul Eeram. In the same year, she debuted in Telugu cinema with the movie Kilaadi Krishnudu, opposite Krishna. She was given screen name "Vijaya Shanthi", which was based on that of her aunt and veteran actress Vijaya Lalitha. Vijayashantis first break as a performer came in the 1983 Telugu film Neti Bharatham. In the blockbuster movie Karthavyam her electrifying performance as a tough cop won her the National Film Award for Best Actress from the Government of India and an Andhra Pradesh State award for best actress.