Actor Allu Arjun‘s pan-Indian film Pushpa – The Rise will release in theatres in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi, on Friday. Speaking at a press conference held in Chennai, on Tuesday, ahead of the film’s release, Allu Arjun said that it was a ‘pleasure’ to see Pushpa in Tamil and that the language ‘elevated the film to another level’.
“It has been years since I spoke in Tamil, but I grew up and spent the first 20 years of my life in Tamil Nadu,” he said. The actor, who predominantly works in the Telugu film industry, grew up in Chennai. “Since this film is set in the Tirupati border, I found it apt for the Tamil audience,” he added.
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Pushpa, stars Allu Arjun in the titular character, Pushpa Raj, and is set against the backdrop of red sandalwood smuggling. The film is directed by Sukumar and produced by Mythri Movie Makers. It also stars Rashmika Mandanna and Fahadh Faasil while Samantha Ruth Prabhu will make a cameo appearance through a song in the film. The makers are releasing the film in two parts.
Allu Arjun added that it took several conversations with Sukumar and more than a month and half to finalise the protagonist’s look and characterisation. Visually, it is a “complex film”, he said. He added that he had to practise the local dialect for 3-4 months via video calls.
Others who attended the event included the film’s music composer Devi Sri Prasad, Madhan Karky who has written the dialogues in Tamil, producers RB Choudary and Kalaipuli S Thanu and director Siruthai Siva.
Devi Sri Prasad also said that after he heard the story of Pushpa, he had a strong feeling that it was apt for the Tamil audience since it is set on the Tirupati border. “This story is owned by both the states,” he said. The composer, who admitted that though he is not an avid “fight-lover”, highlighted a fight sequence from the film that he watched on loop while composing the background score.
On Tuesday, Allu Arjun also addressed the recent cancellation of a meet-and-greet event for Pushpa in Hyderabad following which several attending fans were injured.
“We had decided to organise a fan meet to see people who had come from different places. We could not get the required permissions. Police protection was allowed only for an event of 1,000 people. This caused disappointment among the fans but there is nothing to worry. The team took care of it and the incident was blown out of proportion,’ the actor said.
Makers of Pushpa recently said that the film earned Rs 250 crores, for its theatrical and non-theatrical rights.