Bunny Does It Again

The upbeat mood was palpable. The star whom they had seen only on silver screen all this while was right amidst them and it was excitement galore.

If some revelled in just gaping at him, others tried to get beyond the human chain that had formed minutes after the star made a grand entry.

The message was clear. Allu Arjun has touched Mallu hearts once again with Gaja Pokkiri. The Telugu star who was here to promote the dubbed version of his latest hit, Julayi, was accorded a warm welcome by his fans; something that could turn a Mollywood actor green with envy.

“I was bowled over. Seeing fans wearing crazy tee shirts with my name written on them. This is something I don’t see even back in Hyderabad,” gushes Allu, the only T-town actor so far to enjoy a huge fan following in Malayalam.

Thrilled at the way the dubbed version of his eleventh movie, Julayi, is gaining acceptance, he takes us through Gaja Pokkiri, which sees the actor even donning a comic role for the first time in his career.

“I personally liked the philosophy behind Julayi. The youngsters of current generation are after quick money.”

Our parents’ generation was all about hard work and financial discipline,” says Allu. “Julayi addresses the most common conflict we see between fathers and sons regarding how money should be made,” adds the man who swears by pukka commercial South Indian movies with the right dose of masala action, comedy and dance.

He calls them the spice of South Indian films and takes the example of movies like Ghajini and Wanted that are even remade in Bollywood.

“Remakes have become the order of the day and exploring another market is the future of cinema,” believes Allu.

Though huge sets, dependence on glamour quotient and big canvases have not still entered Malayalam, Allu who is even known as Bunny after a movie of his, is happy that his Malayali fans can relate to his movies.

“I think they see a welcoming contrast in my movies,” says the man who started his career as a child artiste 11 years ago.

Today, Allu is one of the highly-paid actors in the Telugu industry with ten of his 11 movies dubbed into Malayalam — something that has not only earned him a firm foothold in Malayali hearts, but also the title Mallu Arjun.

He even goes on to compliment the different aspects of dubbing in Malayalam that has packed each of his movies with a punch.

“Compared to other films, the quality of dubbing, mixing and translation is very accurate in Malayalam.” This he owes to director Khader Hassan who has worked on most of his movies dubbed in Malayalam.

This said, it makes us curious to know how much a Malayali he is and he doesn’t bat an eye lid to say, “I’ve bonded with Kerala through my travels. I’ve visited almost all the places in Kerala, maybe more than any Keralite would have done.”

Though what he cant come to terms with is the complicated language, he says, “For the past two years, I am trying to overcome it by watching many a Malayalam movie.

The last with which I fell in love was Usthad Hotel.” He even showers praise at Dulquar for his class act.

This eventually brings in the query, when will he be doing a Malayalam film? Someone even goes a step ahead and asks, what if he was offered an Adoor Gopalakrishnan movie?

The answer doesn’t take too long, and it’s a firm No, much to our amusement. “I like watching them, but I don’t think I am capable of doing such roles,” signs off the handsome hero of Telugu industry.

Allu will next be seen in the Telugu flick Idaramayyilla Tho that will be directed by acclaimed director Puri Jaganath.