Allu Arjun breaks 68-yr-old jinx as Tollywood sweeps national awards
Hyderabad: “Thaggedhey Le (No backing down)”, spoken in a typical Rajahmundry accent with a brazen look of defiance and a stylish flicker of the hand, won Allu Arjun the Best Actor award at the 69th National Film Awards announced on Thursday evening in New Delhi.
With the win, Arjun broke a 68-year-old jinx as the award had evaded even legendary actors like N.T. Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Krishna and Krishnam Raju, among others.
Tollywood, meanwhile, had a night to remember as it bagged a slew of awards at the event, propelled by Allu Arjun-starrer ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ and Junior NTR and Ramcharan-starrer ‘RRR’, which alone bagged six awards at the event. While ‘Pushpa’ bagged two awards, ‘Konda Polam; and ‘Uppena’ also won an award apiece, giving a fillip to Tollywood.
‘RRR’ music director M.M. Keeravani shared the best music direction award with ‘Pushpa (The Rise Part I)’ music director Devi Prasad. The S.S. Rajamouli-directed film also bagged awards for best popular film providing wholesome entertainment, best male playback singer to Kalabhairava, best special effects, best action director and best choreography.
The Hindi film ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’, starring Madhavan in the lead, was named the Best Feature Film. Alongside Arjun, Bollywood actresses Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon won the top acting honours for their roles in ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ and ‘Mimi’, respectively.
The Best Director award went to Nikhil Mahajan, for his Marathi film ‘Godavari’, while Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s ‘The Kashmir Files’ won the Nargis Dutt Award for best film on national integration.
“It seems to be a reflection of changing times and jury members are considering several other factors,” said producer Raj Kandukuri, who bagged a national award for his content-driven film 'Pellichoopulu’ in 2017.
Allu Aravind, Arjun’s father, said: “Allu Arjun has broken a 68-year record by bagging the National Award for Best Actor and it’s a proud moment for us. I also thank the Telugu audience and makers of ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ for fetching us such a rare honour.”
He was celebrating with producers Ravi Shankar and Naveen Yerneni, all of whom were seen joyfully shaking hands and hugging one other over Arjun’s rare achievement.
Top producer D.V.V. Danayya, who made the magnum opus ‘RRR’, shared plans for a big celebration for sweeping the national awards. “We are on cloud nine and I am short of words to express my immense happiness. Our blockbuster film bagged six prestigious awards in varied categories and we thank each one of them for their eminent contribution. Initially, we were elated when our film garnered '1,500 crore worldwide; then we bagged two Oscar awards, which added a new feather to our steaming cap. Now, sweeping national awards amid stiff competition has led to abundant joy,” he said.
Veteran writer Vijayendra Prasad, father of ace director S.S. Rajamouli and the one who penned the script for ‘RRR’ said, “It is time for celebrations and we are being flooded with congratulatory messages from our friends and well-wishers all over the world. Our film has been widely viewed and appreciated across the world. It has also bagged national and international honours, so it is like a double bonanza for us.”
Commenting on an apparent reluctance on the part of Telugu filmmakers to apply for national awards, Raj Kandukuri said, “Legendary actors like NTR and ANR were satisfied with the response of the fans and Telugu audience, and didn’t really make an effort to win national awards. However, in the past two decades, our people have been sending applications and vying for national honours. This time, 24 films were in the race, with four films bagging the coveted awards.”
Congratulating Allu Arjun, Kandukuri said, “Allu Arjun deserved this award for his outstanding performance. His style and mannerisms like ‘Thageydey Ley’ and ‘Srivalli’ dance steps were aped by kids across the world. His film was widely appreciated and quite successful even in Japan and China. So, reaching out to viewers as much as possible is the key, and it set a new benchmark for global recognition.”
