Happy Birthday Allu Arjun: Tracing the 17 years and 20-film journey of the Stylish Star
Surely one of the better by-products of nepotism in Telugu cinema, Allu Arjun, over the years, has proved his mettle as an actor, dancer, and singer too. He is for sure the finest entertainer in Indian cinema right now, and we trace the Stylish star's journey to the top.
As Allu Arjun celebrates his 37th birthday, here's a trip down memory lane to see how he carved a name for himself in golden letters in the Indian film industry
Known as the Stylish Star, Arjun made his debut as a child artist with his uncle and Megastar Chiranjeevi-starrer Vijetha (1985) and also played a short cameo in Kamal Haasan's Swati Mutyam (1986).
As a young adult, Arjun made his first onscreen appearance in the Chiranjeevi-Simran-starrer, Daddy. He played a student to dance master Chiru, and inadvertently becomes the cause of marital discord
Two years later in 2003, Arjun made his debut as the lead actor in veteran director K Raghavendra Rao's 100th film, Gangotri. Paired opposite Aarti Agarwal, Arjun won a CineMaa award for Gangotri
Popularly known as Bunny, Arjun rose to fame with director Sukumar's debut rom com, Arya (2004), which earned him his first Nandi Special Jury award. It was remade in multiple Indian languages
He created his identity soon and went on to feature in several hits like Bunny (2005), Happy (2006) and Parugu (2008), which fetched him his second Nandi Special Jury award.
Arjun introduced six-pack abs to the Telugu audience in Desamuduru (2007). He achieved his ripped body by undergoing vigorous training and special diets. He achieved a similar look in Badrinath (2011)
He made his debut as a playback singer with Kirsh-directed Vedam (2010), which also starred Anushka Shetty and Manchu Manoj as other leads. He crooned the song Prapancham Naaventa Vasthunte
Julayi (2012) was his first collaboration with director Trivikram Srinivas. It won the Nandi Award for Best Popular Feature Film. This film marked the beginning of a successful actor-director combo
The duo continued their success in films like S/o Sathyamurthy (2015) and Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020), which went onto become the third-highest grosser of Telugu cinema
Arjun produced a short-film titled I am That Change (2014) on the occasion of 68th Independence Day of India. Directed by Sukumar, the short film went viral for its unique concept and execution.
The same year, he also made his way into our hearts with two diverse performances - a playful performance in the blockbuster Race Gurram and an emotional cameo in Ram Charan-starrer Yevadu.
Arjun's performance as Gona Ganna Reddy in Anushka Shetty's Rudhramadevi (2015) won him a Nandi Award. His devil-may-care attitude while mouthing smart, apt lines in Telangana dialect was a major draw
Not only as an actor, but Arjun is also known for his exemplary dancing skills. While he might have started off as one of the best dancers of Telugu cinema, he is now surely one of India's best
Arjun showed his exponentially increasing box office stamina with the Boyapati Srinu directorial, Sarrainodu (2016). His energetic performance as Gana was alone worth the price of the ticket.
Even though his performance as the Brahmin cook who takes the law into his hands brought back memories of Shankar's Gentleman, Arjun's Duvvada Jagannadham received both critical and commercial acclaim
Earlier this year, on Sankranthi, Arjun delivered one of his biggest hits, Ala Vaikunthapurramulo. Thanks to streaming platforms, the film, and of course, Butta Bomma became the talk of the nation
After more than a decade, the Arya and Arya 2 combo of Arjun and Sukumar are reuniting for Arjuin's 20th film, Pushpa. The film has Rashmika Mandanna sharing screen space with Arjun for the first time
