Telugu star Allu Arjun’s recent National Award win for his performance in Pushpa: The Rise marks a significant milestone in his career. Reflecting on this achievement, Arjun has credited the journey, effort, and collaboration that brought him to this point.

Speaking at a press conference in Mumbai on Friday, while promoting his upcoming film Pushpa: The Rule, Arjun shared that the award symbolises not only a personal accomplishment but also the dedication of his team, especially director Sukumar. He revealed, “Before Pushpa 1, I told Sukumar Garu that I wanted to aim for the Best Actor award and take things to the next level. I even said that maybe we could strive for the National Award.”

Arjun further noted Sukumar’s commitment to this shared vision: “He promised to do his best to create a film where people would feel it truly deserved such recognition. This win is especially meaningful as no Telugu actor has won the National Award in the last 69 years. Achieving this was only possible because of Sukumar Garu.”

The actor also expressed his gratitude towards music director Devi Sri Prasad, who earned a National Award for his work on the same film. Arjun reflected on their long-standing friendship, sharing memories of their early conversations about breaking into the Hindi film industry.

“Devi and I both come from Chennai, and I used to tell him it would be hard for me to do a Hindi film. I’d ask him why he didn’t try, but he would respond, ‘No, I’ll do it when you do it.’ At the time, doing a Hindi film seemed so far out of reach for us. It was rare, maybe a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Arjun explained.

He went on to describe how much has changed over the years. “Standing here now feels surreal. Winning National Awards and delivering a national hit album for the same project is incredibly special for both of us,” Arjun said, reflecting on their journey and shared achievements.