Indian movie A-lister Allu Arjun is jubilant at his best actor win at the Indian National Film Awards for Pushpa: The Rise - Part 1.
The film, which was directed by Sukumar and was made by Mythri Movie Makers and Muttamsetty Media, follows the ascent of Molleti Pushpa Raj (Arjun), a labourer who joins a sandalwood smuggling organization and battles an egotistical police officer.
The Telugu-language movie, which was also dubbed into other Indian dialects, went on to become the nation's largest box office success of 2021.
The best actor honour at the Indian National Film Awards has never before gone to an actor from the Telugu-language film industry.
“Getting the national award is the highest official respect you can get,” Arjun said, as per Variety.
“What we realized was that in 69 years of Telugu cinema, while other technicians and directors have won, no actor had won best actor at the national awards. So that was a pathbreaking achievement and became the pride of the Telugu people. I was glad that I could contribute to it in a small way.”
Arjun believes the movie's realism is what makes it so successful.
“It’s the common man factor, it’s the characterizations’ attitude that really connected across all languages,” Arjun added.
“We wanted to make very authentic, rustic, rooted storytelling. I think that authenticity and honesty paid off, we were not trying to be somebody else, we were trying to be who we are and still trying to appeal to everybody else. It’s like how they say, going local is going global.”
Since Pushpa 1 was such a great hit, anticipation for Pushpa 2: The Rule, which is scheduled for release in mid-2024, is strong.
“For starters, Pushpa 2 will be a notch above Pushpa 1, to my expectations. It’s got more adrenaline rush moments,” Arjun said.
India is starting to explore outside of its borders and the diaspora market in response to RRR's recent success on a global scale.
“It has opened the doors and the minds of people that there is something beyond our regular traditional markets that we need to go explore. All of Indian cinema is on the same mindset, for us to expand our market and our reach as much as possible,” Arjun implored.
The actor mentioned that there are plans to hire a Hollywood agent as part of this growth.
“It’s time for all Indian actors to think globally because India is going to be a global superpower. All businesses in India will flourish and so will the Indian film industry,” Arjun said.
Adding, “I feel in less than 10 years from now, Indian cinema will be viewed all over the world, like how Korean dramas have been watched all over the world, with a very high probability for India to be in the same spot in the coming decade. It’s really a golden era for the entertainment industry in India.”
