Jhukega Nahi: 7 takeaways from India Today Cover on Pushpa Allu Arjun and the South Swag
Allu Arjun. Photo: Bandeep Singh/India Today
Telugu superstar Allu Arjun is no longer restricted to Tollywood. He has become a phenomenon all over the country thanks to Pushpa: The Rise, and the rise of this Pushpa has been spectacular. Allu Arjun is the India Today cover star this week, July 25.
It all started when Allu Arjun rocked the Hindi-cinema belt in Pushpa style in 2021. At a time when the multiplexes and theatres were recovering from the jolt of Covid-19, Allu Arjun’s movie breathed a new lease of life into cinema halls.
It was a treat which will be cherished for a long time. His movie Pushpa: The Rise was the highest grosser of 2021. Its Hindi dubbed version fetched Rs 108 crore and a total of Rs 323 crore overall. Dialogues and catchphrases from Pushpa soon made their way into our language, from living-room discussions to election speeches.
It didn’t just stop with Pushpa: The Rise. The roar of South cinema at the box office across North India continued in 2022 with RRR, KGF: Chapter 2 and the recent Kamal Haasan movie, Vikram.
The India Today July 25 cover features Allu Arjun, the phenomenon, and his rise; and the rise of South cinema, transcending the language barrier and giving Hindi filmmakers and actors a run for their money.
Here are 7 interesting takeaways from the cover story:
1. Pushpa wasn’t made to impress the whole country: Pushpa writer-director Sukumar Guru said that he made Pushpa just as a Telugu entertainer. “The idea wasn’t to impress the whole country but it was a great by-product,” said Allu Arjun. He added that once the local audience got impressed by the movie, the energy transferred and the aura found its way to the rest of India.
2. Sukumar meets Arjun: Though Allu Arjun hails from a film background [his father is Allu Aravind, the popular film producer], his start at the Telugu film industry wasn’t all smooth. He went without much notice in his first movie, Gangotri (2003). Later that year, Allu Arjun met writer-director Sukumar at the screening of the Telugu Film Dil, and everything changed.
Sukumar knew he had found his Arya, and went on to make the eponymous film with Allu Arjun. Arya made Allu Arjun famous even in Kerala, and the actor was baptised 'Mallu Arjun' by his fans in the state.
3. Raju Hirani in awe of Pushpa: Director of five back-to-back blockbuster Hindi movies, Rajkumar Hirani, also couldn’t stop himself from heaping praise on Allu Arjun’s Pushpa: The Rise. In an SMS that went viral, Hirani called Pushpa: The Rise an “excellent film”. Hirani said that he loved the writing, where somehow every scene was turned on its head to make it unusual. He added that the movie was shot very well and it was a great entertainer.
4. Yash built himself from scratch: The journey of Kannada sensation Yash is as incredible as his movies. He didn’t have a filmi background and instead, as a teenager, helped his family run a provision store. His burning desire for fame and attention, however, prompted him to fight all odds. His family was against his idea of pursuing a career in Kannada cinema. But he asked for a chance.
In an interview with India Today TV, Yash recalled his father telling him, “If you come back, never think of anything else: just study, and then go get a job."
After years of going unnoticed, Yash became a superstar with KGF: Chapter 1. Of course, he did not have to 'go get a job'.
5. Hindi stars looking South: As the South cinema fever grips fans all across the country, Bollywood film stars have now started looking South. For example, Alia Bhatt had a cameo in the SS Rajamouli-directed movie RRR. Shah Rukh Khan will star in an upcoming film action-packed film titled Jawan (2023), directed by Atlee, who is known for Tamil movies like Bigil and Mersal. Ranveer Singh has announced a project with ace director Shankar who directed Sivaji: The Boss, Enthiran (2.0). Even his wife, Deepika Padukone, is working with Baahubali star Prabhas and director Nag Ashwin, on a movie tentatively titled Project K.
6. Marketing equivalent to making: South cinema exhibitors said that marketing of the movie is as important as making it. “Nobody will come to know if you make a good movie and keep it to yourself,” said Chaluve Gowda, partner at Hombale Films, which made KGF.
He also said that the decision to invest more in marketing wasn’t driven by a gut feeling but was backed by field, telephonic and online surveys.
7. Language barrier fading: Renowned Telugu film producer (and father of Allu Arjun), Allu Aravind finds that the language barrier between Hindi cinema and regional cinema is dissipating with time. Indian cinema is going through a cataclysmic turn. “Indian cinema is going to the next level with those from the South contributing to the new genre of Indian cinema faster,” Aravind told India Today.