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Why were Allu Arjun's Pushpa and Yash's KGF bigger successes in Hindi than Telugu and Kannada? Nagarjuna has the answer
Nagarjuna spoke in a session on the second day of WAVES 2025 in Mumbai about the popularity of south Indian films in Hindi. Here's his take on it.
Actor Nagarjuna attended the World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES) on Friday, its second day, and spoke at a session with Anupam Kher, Khushbu Sundar, and Karthi. At Pan-Indian Cinema: Myth or Momentum? Nagarjuna decoded the popularity of Allu Arjun’s Pushpa and Yash’s KGF films in Hindi. (Also Read: Allu Arjun recalls making 6-pack abs because an actress told him ‘don't think south actors can do it’)
Nagarjuna decodes Pushpa, KGF’s popularity in Hindi
Nagarjuna spoke about the reason why the Pushpa, KGF and Baahubali films were blockbusters in the north, with their Hindi-dubbed versions out-earning the original versions. He believed that the audience there was craving to see larger-than-life heroes that took their minds off the drudgery of daily life.
He said, “Both the Pushpa films made more money in the North than in Telugu. We have seen similar stories in Telugu before, like Pushpa, which has larger-than-life heroes. Whereas in the North—in Bihar, UP, and Punjab—they wanted to see their heroes like Pushpa Raj, Yash in KGF or Baahubali. They wanted to see larger-than-life heroes. For Indian people and culture, just living day to day is difficult, and when they want to overcome the stress by watching films, they want to see magic on screen.”
He then added that another reason the films are finding such a fan base is that the directors aren’t losing the essence of the story. “That's what the larger-than-life stories are doing, without losing the fundamentals of Indian storytelling. They are not going away from that, which is why they have been successful. Rajamouli shot Baahubali frame by frame, thinking it was a Telugu film. He was very proud of his roots and language, and he shot it like a Telugu film, and people loved it across the world! If you are rooted to your storytelling, it will resonate," Nagarjuna explained.
According to Sacnilk, Pushpa 2: The Rule (2024) earned ₹812.14 crore in Hindi as opposed to just ₹341 crore in Telugu. Similarly, KGF Chapter 2 collected ₹435.33 crore in Hindi and ₹154 crore in Kannada.
About WAVES 2025
The four-day event, WAVES 2025, was kicked off in Mumbai after PM Narendra Modi inaugurated it on Thursday. Numerous panels are planned for the four days with celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, Allu Arjun, Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor and others attending it.
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