‘Pushpa’ star Allu Arjun opens up on his Hollywood plans
Actor expects Indian cinema to be as popular as K-dramas in 10 years
Indian actor Allu Arjun has plans for Hollywood, as the popularity of ‘RRR’ has propelled Indian cinema worldwide. The ‘Pushpa’ actor said that this phenomenon has opened the doors for Indian cinema to go international.
Speaking to ‘Variety’ about his Hollywood plans, Arjun said: “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 and our reach as much as possible.”
As part of this expansion, the actor said he already has plans to sign up with a Hollywood agent: “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.”
“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 entertainment industry in India.”
On becoming the first Telugu actor to win the Best Actor award at the Indian National Film Awards, Arjun told Variety: “Getting the national award is the highest official respect you can get. What we realised 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 path-breaking achievement and became the pride of the Telugu people. I was glad that I could contribute to it in a small way.”
He attributed the success of ‘Pushpa’ to its rootedness and rustic nature. “It’s the common man factor, it’s the character’s attitude that really connected across all languages,” Arjun said. “We wanted a 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.”
‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’, the sequel to ‘Pushpa: The Rise’, is due for release in 2024. Arjun has described the film as being “even more of an adrenalin rush”.