‘Pushpa’ star Allu Arjun said he was ignored by producers for ‘not looking great’ even after a mega-hit debut
economictimes.indiatimes.comsuccess in showbiz. Not even a blockbuster debut. Telugu superstar Allu Arjun, who was recently in Hyderabad at an event celebrating the 20-year anniversary of his 2004 hit ‘Arya’, revealed that even though his first movie ‘Gangotri’ was a gargantuan success at the box office, it did not lead to a deluge of film offers right away.
Addressing his fans, the ‘Pushpa’ star revealed that many times he was bypassed by producers and directors as they did not think he looked good. “Naa Gangotri cinema hit aindi. Nen ekkado chudadaniki pedda goppa ga lenu anesi naku pedda great films raledu (Gangotri was a hit but I didn’t look great, so good films didn’t come my way) The film was a blockbuster but its my failure as an artiste that I couldn’t make a mark. I went from 0 to -100, I was a nobody,” he said.
However, soon he got the opportunity to star in the Sukumar directorial and the rest was history.
The romantic action comedy, which featured Arjun as Arya, an earnest and happy-go-lucky youngster who is an incurable romantic, gave the superstar an image makeover and catapulted him to overnight stardom. Made on a budget of Rs 4 crore, ‘Arya’ emerged as a box-office darling, earning over Rs 30 crore. Aside from Arjun, the movie also starred Anuradha Mehta and Siva Balaji in pivotal roles.
Arjun hailed Sukumar, stating that the director “changed his life forever.”
“If there’s one person in my life who has changed it forever and had the maximum impact, from Arya to Pushpa, it’s Sukumar. Irrespective of me delivering hits or
