Allu Arjun says Sukumar's Arya changed the course of his life forever; shares throwback pics from set

Sukumar's first film Arya, starring Allu Arjun in the lead role, released 20 years ago on May 7 and brought success to everyone involved in the film.

It has been 20 years since director Sukumar came to the film industry, debuting on May 7 with the 2004 film Arya. Since then, the director went on to make successful films like 100% Love and Pushpa: The Rise. Allu Arjun, who starred in his debut film, reflected on its success and shared throwback pics. (Also Read: Allu Arjun says he’ll teach David Warner Pushpa Pushpa's hook step: ‘It’s easy’)

‘It’s not just a movie’

Sharing a new poster that reflected how 20 years have passed since Arya released, Allu wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “20 years of Arya. It’s not just a movie … it’s a moment in time that changed the course of my life. Gratitude forever.” He also shared old pictures with other actors in the film like Anuradha Mehta, Siva Balaji, and a young Sukumar, writing, “Sweet Memories,” with a heart emoji. In one of the pics, the actor and director can be seen interacting with other crew members and discussing a scene. Years later, the duo teamed up again for Pushpa: The Rise in 2022, which again was a blockbuster success.

About Arya

Starring Allu, Anuradha and Siva in the lead roles, Arya tells the story of a hopeless lover and his one-sided love for a girl who falls for someone else. The film was remade in Tamil as Kutty in 2010, with Dhanush, Sriya Saran and Dhyan in the lead roles. Arya 2 was only a spiritual sequel to the film, with Allu playing a new character. Kajal Aggarwal and Navdeep also starred in the film.

Upcoming work

Directed by Sukumar, Pushpa 2: The Rule will see Allu, Rashmika and Fahadh reprising their roles as Pushpa Raj, Srivalli and Bhanwar Singh Shekawat in the film. Jagapathi Babu, Brahmaji, Anasuya Bharadwaj and others will also star in it. The film is a sequel to the 2021 film Pushpa: The Rise. The movie is slated for release on August 15 this year.