Pushpa star Allu Arjun opens up about being first Telugu actor to win National Award

Allu Arjun recently made history after he became the first-ever Telugu actor to win the Best Actor National Award. He received the honour for his role as Pushpa Raj in the 2021 Sukumar directorial Pushpa: The Rise. The film, which focuses on the smuggling of sandalwood, became one of the biggest hits of 2021 and even spawned a cultural movement. Now, Allu Arjun has finally opened up about his feat in an interview. 

3 things you need to know: 

• Allu Arjun celebrated the big win with his family and director Sukumar.
• Rashmika Mandanna also wished her Pushpa co-star Allu Arjun on his maiden National Award win.
• Allu Arjun is currently working on the film’s sequel, Pushpa 2: The Rule. 

Allu Arjun on making history at National Film Awards 

In a conversation with Variety, Allu Arjun said that after winning the award, he realised that only technicians and directors from the Telugu film industry had scored the big wins. This is the first time that an actor has won Best Actor in the Telugu industry, said the Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo star.

(Allu Arjun has also won a Filmfare and South Indian International Movie Award for his role in Pushpa | Image: mythrimoviemakers/Instagram)

He referred to the achievement as the ‘highest official respect’ one can achieve and concluded that he is glad to have contributed to "the pride of the Telugu people". He said, "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,” the DJ actor said.

Allu Arjun explains why Pushpa was a hit

Talking about Pushpa, Arjun said that it was successful because it was rooted in the life of a common man. He said that the team wanted to tell a story that was based on ‘very authentic, rustic, rooted storytelling.’ He added that the authenticity behind the film ended up making it a success, and concluded by saying, "It’s like how they say, going local is going global."