It's celebration time for Allu Arjun. The actor won his very first National Award today for his performance as a charismatic ganglord. On Thursday, the 69th National Film Awards were announced where stars the likes of Alia Bhatt, Kriti Sanon and others were declared winners. In a video that is doing the rounds, we can see Allu Arjun's first reaction soon after the announcements are made. In the video, we can see an emotionally charged Allu Arjun sharing a long and warm hug with Pushpa director Sukumar. The rest of the film team can be seen cheering for the actor. Present in the frame is also Allu Arjun's wife Sneha Reddy, who can be spotted smiling widely in the background.
Allu Arjun fans flooded social media with messages and so did the actor's colleagues. Among them were Vijay Deverakonda, Jr NTR and RRR director SS Rajamouli, whose own film bagged a total of 6 awards.
“Pushpa Raj. Congratulationsssssss Bunny anna,” posted Vijay Deverakonda on X (formerly known as Twitter), adding a fire emoji and the hashtag #ThaggedeLe. “Thaggede Le” is Allu Arjun's catchphrase in Pushpa. Bunny is Allu Arjun's nickname and also the title of a film he starred in.
Similar words were shared by SS Rajamouli who posted: “Pushpaaaa. Thaggede Le. Congratulations Bunny.”
Jr NTR wrote, "Congratulations bava. You deserve all the success and awards you get for #Pushpa."
Pushpa: The Rise, directed by Sukumar, stars Allu Arjun in the title role – a daily wage labourer who eventually rises to head a crime syndicate. Rashmika Mandanna plays the female lead and Fahadh Faasil is cast as a cop on Pushpa's trail.
Allu Arjun, Fahadh Faasil, Rashmika Mandanna and several of the cast will reprise their roles in the sequel, Pushpa: The Rule, expected to be released in 2024.