Making of Mallu Arjun: The mastermind behind Allu Arjun’s success in Kerala

Allu Arjun also said a song was specially composed in Pushpa 2 to reciprocate his love for his fans in Kerala. “I told Devi Sri Prasad (film composer, singer) we must create a song to show my love for my Kerala audience. The song ‘Peelings’ starts with Malayalam lines, and I’ve ensured these lines are retained across all six languages the film is releasing in. This is my tribute to Kerala’s love.”

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What endears Allu Arjun to his fans in Kerala? Why is he referred to as Allu Ettan (elder brother) or Mallu Arjun? We take a close look.

Long before Allu Arjun became the pan-Indian superstar he is today, Malayalam film distributor Khader Hasan had found a unique appeal in him to captivate audiences across languages. Hasan’s gut feeling about the twenty-something hero of Arya (2004) made him pick up the Kerala distribution of the film.

Hasan also had taken note of a void in Malayalam Cinema then – of  ‘youth,’ in terms of star presence and content. He decided to pitch the Telugu star there. Not only did Arya win hearts, but also opened a new market for Allu Arjun.

But it was not just the case of gut feeling going right. A strategy, a carefully crafted one, and a robust PR campaign did the job.

Khader Hasan remembers his journey with Allu Arjun, who is lovingly referred to as ‘Mallu Arjun’ in Kerala. Excerpts from an exclusive conversation with Indian Express Malayalam.

Khader Hasan remembers his journey with Allu Arjun.

The Spark

Telugu cinema had shifted its base from Chennai and was entering an interesting phase in the early 2000s.  A slew of star kids were making inroads into cinema. Allu Arjun was one among them. While people raved about his dance, what truly impressed me was his smartness.

Arya had all the key elements of a success formula. I felt an instant spark the moment I saw it. The phrase ‘power of youth’ came to mind. And I knew if this film is marketed well in Malayalam, it will have an appeal among the young audience.

There were only a few actors in Malayalam who could be considered part of the ‘youth’ wave. Prithviraj had already made his debut and earned a reputation as a skilled actor, but he hadn’t yet sparked a major fan following. Apart from him, there were no other young stars making waves in Malayalam cinema at that time.

But that wasn’t enough to launch Allu Arjun in Malayalam.

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The Strategy

I knew the marketing had to be well-planned, with a focus on the Malayalam audience. I approached filmmaker Priyadarshan who supported me. After watching Arya, I used his endorsement in the promotion. We created a special, emotionally charged song starting with ‘Arya… Arya…’ to make an impact.

Ahead of the release, we targeted the youth through advertisements in magazines and newspapers. We also secured deals with TV channels to air the film’s songs and trailers regularly. This was during a time when Malayalam cinema was facing a rough patch, so we made sure to understand the market potential and thoroughly plan our approach.

We organized sustained PR campaigns and focused on promoting Arya in colleges to engage the youth. Additionally, we leveraged popular social media platforms like Orkut for promotion. Ads were released in weekend editions of newspapers and transit ads were placed on college buses.

The Sound

Even before Arya, I had already brought several hit Telugu films to Malayalam, including successful titles like Pranayamai. At that time, dubbing was in a rudimentary stage – sound reels were attached, and the shots were synced at the editing table. There was no professional studio setup for dubbing films, and I wondered, ‘Why can’t the voices of these films be dubbed in a more professional way?’

I worked as an assistant in various films. So I had an understanding of the basics of filmmaking. With this knowledge, I believed I could improve the dubbing process. I decided to take the plunge, aiming to add quality and perfection to the process.

I heard Jis Joy’s voice in a serial and wanted to try him out for Allu Arjun in Malayalam. Though there were some initial hiccups, he soon became very natural and now his voice is identified with Allu Arjun.

Similarly, we pay a lot of attention to the songs, the lyrics, and sound mixing.

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The Success

Following Arya’s success, we distributed Bunny, Krishna, Hero, Badrinath, Gajapokiri, Gangothri, and Ala Vaikunthapuramulu.

Ram Charan’s first film, Magadheera, produced by Allu Arjun’s father, came my way, followed by Prabhas’ film. Both were offered for release in Malayalam, and there were a couple of meetings regarding it. However, I decided not to take them up. I politely declined, not out of ego, but simply because I didn’t feel it was the right time or fit.

But when it came to Allu Arjun, it was different. I believe everything happens for a reason, and I knew my true mission was to introduce Bunny to the Malayali audience. That’s what I focused on.