Allu Arjun (born 8 April 1982) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu films. One of the highest paid actors in India, Arjun is also known for his extraordinary dancing skills.He is a recipient of several awards, including six Filmfare Awards and three Nandi Awards.

Allu Arjun made his debut with Gangotri in 2003. He rose to prominence starring in Sukumar's cult classic Arya (2004), for which he earned a Nandi Special Jury Award.He consolidated his reputation with the action films Bunny (2005) and Desamuduru (2007). In 2008, he starred in the romantic drama Parugu, for which he won his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu.

Allu Arjun went on to star in notable films such as Arya 2 (2009), Vedam (2010), Julayi (2012), Race Gurram (2014), S/O Satyamurthy (2015), Rudhramadevi (2015), Sarrainodu (2016), DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham (2017), Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020), and Pushpa: The Rise (2021). His performances as a lower-class cable operator in Vedam and as a carefree street smart man in Race Gurram won him two Filmfare Awards for Best Actor – Telugu. He also won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of prince Gona Ganna Reddy in Rudhramadevi. He received high acclaim for his performance in Pushpa: The Rise, which emerged as the highest-grossing Indian film in 2021, and ranks among the highest-grossing Telugu films of all time. The film also earned him his fourth Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu.

Allu Arjun endorses a number of brands and products, and is a celebrity brand ambassador for the Pro Kabaddi League and for the streaming service Aha.

Early life

Allu Arjun was born on 8 April 1982 in a Telugu family in Madras (present-day Chennai) to film producer Allu Aravind and Nirmala. His paternal grandfather was the noted film comedian Allu Ramalingaiah who appeared in over 1000 films.Their native place is Palakollu of West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh. Allu Arjun grew up in Chennai before their family moved to Hyderabad in his 20s.

He is the second of three children. His elder brother Venkatesh is a businessman while his younger brother Sirish is an actor. His paternal aunt is married to Chiranjeevi.His cousins, namely, Ram Charan, Varun Tej, Sai Dharam Tej, and Niharika Konidela are also actors.

Career

Career beginnings (1985–1986; 2001–2007)
After playing as a child artist in Vijetha (1985) and as a dancer in Daddy (2001), he made his adult debut in Gangotri.The film was directed by K. Raghavendra Rao with his father Allu Aravind producing, along with C. Ashwini Dutt. Praising his acting performance, Jeevi of Idlebrain criticized his looks in the film and added that "Arjun should choose roles that amplify his strength and nullify his weaknesses." He then appeared in Sukumar's Arya. He plays the eponymous lead, an outgoing and free-spirited boy falling in love with Geetha (Anu Mehta), an introverted girl who is on the shield of another person Ajay (Siva Balaji).The film proved to be his breakthrough, earning a first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu and won the Nandi Special Jury Award and the CineMAA Award for Best Actor (Critics). The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over ₹30 crore, with a production budget of ₹4 crore. In 2006, the film was dubbed and released in Malayalam in Kerala. Owing to the film's success, he received major acclaim across the region and the Malayali people.

He next starred in V. V. Vinayak's Bunny playing the eponymous lead, a college student. Being successful at the box office, critics praised his efforts, mannerisms and dancing. His next film was A. Karunakaran's musical love story Happy. The film did well at the box-office especially in the overseas markets. A critic appreciated his dancing skills and performance, but felt that his character is a typical happy-go-lucky guy.

Experimentation of genres (2007–2010)

He then starred in Puri Jagannadh's action film Desamuduru in which he played the role of Bala Govindam, a fearless journalist who falls for a woman with a darker past.The film was a commercial success, fetching him a Santosham Film Award, a CineMAA Award and his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu. The same year, he made his second cameo appearance alongside Chiranjeevi, in the song "Jagadeka Veerudiki" from the film Shankar Dada Zindabad.

His next film was Bhaskar's Parugu, where he played the role of Krishna, a happy-go-lucky man from Hyderabad who helps his friend to elope with his love, only to experience the wrath of the woman's father and the emotional struggle he felt. Idlebrain wrote: "Allu Arjun is pretty excellent in the first half as the characterization in the first half is vibrant and needs loads of energy. He carried the entire first half on his shoulders. He excelled in the emotional scenes in the second half."Writing for Rediff.com, Radhikha Rajamani stated that "Arjun performs well though he is rather subdued."Allu Arjun won his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu and his second Nandi Special Jury Award.

Allu Arjun next starred in Sukumar's action comedy Arya 2. A spiritual sequel to the romantic action film Arya (2004), he played the role of Arya, an orphan who is behaviourally sick in that he is consumed with possessiveness for his friend Ajay (Navdeep), who never accepts him. The film revolved arround the complexities of love–hate relationships and love triangles. His character in the film had shades of grey.Sify wrote that "Allu Arjun is full of energy as the guy caught in the powerful current of love. Though he plays the part with negative shades, his characterization could evoke a lot of sympathy from the audiences. His dances are mind-blowing and he excels in emotional scenes." Oneindia appreciated his dance moves and acting performances, especially the comedy scenes. He received his fourth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for his performance in the film.

He had two releases in 2010. The first was Gunasekhar's Varudu, in which he starred alongside Arya and Bhanu Sri Mehra.The filmreceived mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb.His second release of the year was the highly-acclaimed hyperlink anthology film Vedam. It was his first A-rated film in India, and the story takes an inspiration from 26/11 Mumbai blasts in Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai. He played the role of Anand "Cable" Raju, a cable operator hailing from Jubilee Hills (Hyderabad) slum. The film also features Anushka Shetty, Manchu Manoj and Manoj Bajpayee in other prominent roles.His performance received appreciation from film critics, with The Times of India calling it "scintillating" and Idlebrain.com calling it as "best in his career".A critic also commented that "He's a good dancer and does justice to his role." Another critic wrote that "Allu Arjun is excellent as the groom who goes all out to get his bride back. His mass dialogues are good in the second half." He achieved his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for the performance in the film.

Further success (2011–2013)

He next appeared in V. V. Vinayak's action film Badrinath (2011), in which he played the role of Badri, a modern-day Indian samurai who is assigned to protect the Badrinath Temple by his Guru (Prakash Raj), to whom he is very loyal. Allu Arjun undertook intensive martial arts and sword fighting training in Vietnam and marks his first pairing with Tamannaah. He grew his hair out for his look as a warrior in the film.[citation needed] It his second A-rated film in India after Vedam (2010), on the account of graphic action violence.The film completed a 50-day run in 187 movie theaters. His performance and character received mixed reviews. A critic of The Times of India wrote that "Arjun hardly has any scope to emote as he was mostly pushed into action scenes and song sequences."

After Badrinath, he signed Trivikram Srinivas's action comedy film Julayi in 2011. It was released in 2012, in which he played the role of Ravindra Narayan, a street-smart yet spoilt brat whose life takes a drastic turn after he becomes the witness of a huge bank robbery. A critic wrote that "Allu Arjun puts in a confident performance as the loveable rogue. It's a role that is right up his alley and he carries it off with a characteristic panache. He lights up the screen with his dancing in particular, pulling off some pretty challenging dance moves." Riya Chakravarty of NDTV, in her review, stated that "Arjun has delivered an outstanding performance."[67] He was nominated for the SIIMA Award for Best Actor (Telugu), for his performance in the film.

Allu Arjun (left) on the sets of Iddarammayilatho (2013)

The next year, he starred in Puri Jagannadh's action thriller Iddarammayilatho, playing Sanju Reddy, a guitarist with a dark past, alongside Amala Paul and Catherine Tresa. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu praised his performance in the action sequences and dance moves in various songs in the film, adding "Allu Arjun uses his agility to his advantage in dances and stunt episodes". Another critic wrote that "True to his tag of "stylish star", Allu Arjun looks trendier than ever before. His character of a guitarist, who is a street performer in Barcelona, was at its best sketchy, and looks completely different from his previous films. He once again proves that he is a good actor and probably because of the action director's meticulous planning, he makes perfect expressions in all the fight scenes."The film marks his second and last collaboration, with Puri Jagannadh after Desamuduru (2007).