Virender Sehwag watches Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun, Prabhas films after retirement, jokes he has ‘nothing to do’

At an event in Hyderabad, former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag spoke about his fondness for films featuring Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun and Prabhas.

Dec 23, 2025, 16:45:02 IST

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Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag was recently in Hyderabad to attend the launch of the Tollywood Pro League (TPL), a cricket and entertainment league for the Telugu film industry. While there, he chatted with hosts Vindhya Vishaka and Nikhil Vijayendra Simha about his love for South Indian films, particularly those of Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun, and Prabhas. (Also Read: Mahesh Babu's Kalaripayattu trainer for Varanasi spills the beans about the star, reveals why he trained in martial arts)

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag called Mahesh Babu his favourite Telugu actor. (PTI)

Virender Sehwag on watching Telugu cinema after retirement

Sehwag was asked if he watched any South Indian films, and he replied, “I am a big fan of South Indian movies. There are so many (favourite films), but I watch them in Hindi because I can’t understand Tamil or Telugu. I remember the dialogue ‘saala jhukega nahi (I won’t back down)’ from Pushpa.” He even recreated the Pushpa dialogue in Telugu with Nikhil’s help.

In 2015, Sehwag announced his retirement from all forms of cricket and IPL. And he joked that after that, he had ‘nothing to do’ but watch Mahesh, Arjun and Prabhas’ films. “My favourite Telugu hero is Mahesh Babu. I also like Allu Arjun, Prabhas…I watched Baahubali a couple of times. Now I’m happily retired, na? So, I have nothing to do,” said the former cricket player.

The launch of TPL was unveiled by producer Dil Raju and attended by Kapil Dev, Suresh Raina, and Sehwag.

Recent work

Mahesh last starred in Trivikram Srinivas’ Guntur Kaaram, which was released for 2024 Sankranthi. The film received lukewarm reviews and collected ₹180.5 crore worldwide. He is now shooting for SS Rajamouli’s highly anticipated film, Varanasi, starring Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj Sukumaran.

Arjun last starred in Sukumar’s hit films Pushpa: The Rise (2021) and Pushpa 2: The Rule (2024). The latter is the highest-grossing Telugu film and one of the highest-grossing films in Indian cinema. He is now shooting for Atlee’s next with Deepika Padukone.

Prabhas last starred in Nag Ashwin’s 2024 film Kalki 2898 AD, which collected a whopping ₹1042.25 crore worldwide and is one of the highest-grossing films in India. He will soon star in Maruthi’s The Raja Saab, Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit, and Hanu Raghavapudi’s Fauzi.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeshita Nyayapati
Despite having a Master's degree in Journalism and over a decade of experience in print and digital media as a field reporter and sub-editor at organisations such as The Times of India and Reader's Digest, Neeshita Nyayapati remains a movie buff first and a Chief Content Producer second. She fell in love with movies in childhood and believes nothing matches the magic of watching a good film that moves you with a warm tub of popcorn in hand. Her love for writing about cinema follows that. Come Friday, you'll find her at her happy place, the movies, catching the latest rom-com or masala offering, for reviews or otherwise. As for the rest of the week, she's here reporting the juiciest news in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi or bringing out the best of celebs in interviews. While her niche is Telugu cinema, Neeshita likes to dabble in a little bit of everything to stay up to date. From film announcements to scandals and hard news angles, she has explored it all. A good book, a comforting cup of hot chocolate, puppy kisses and a stunning beach view are all she needs to unwind. Her passion for biking and travelling has taken her to various places across the country. She has found peace in everything from the frozen lakes of Gangtok to the coffee plantations of Coorg and the dense forests of Bandipur, to the monasteries of Darjeeling. But no matter where she goes, Neeshita loves coming across inspiring and moving stories.Read More