Will Allu Arjun Be Bollywood's New Anil Kapoor?

Histrionics of south Indian superstar Allu Arjun is wowing Bollywood. One of the highest-paid south stars has become a craze overnight post the super success of Puspha -The rise at the box office. The producer's figures show the potboiler had set the box-office ringing by minting Rs 275 crore in just 45 days. 

His amazing style of dialogue delivery and the dance steps have not only charmed the younger generation but also bowled over big cricketing stars - from Australia's David Warner to our own Suresh Raina.  All danced to the south star's tune.

Allu Arjun was seen in a different look with a varying walking style in Pushpa. The South icon raised his shoulders and walked in a tilted pose. Many compared this walking style with the B Town actor. 

The Tapori mannerisms, the hook steps on Srivalli number et al that drove the craze of filmi buffs to a crescendo has made many go nostalgic over the era of the late 80s: the Tapori style and the craziest tunes like Ek Do Teen Chaar and Dhina Din DHA...  

Well, no guessing. The character is none other than our Munna Bhai of Tezaab or say Anil Kapoor aka Majnu Bhai.

Right, Anil Kapoor had a similar walking gait in the 2007 movie 'Welcome' and its sequel 'Welcome Back' in 2015. Anil portrayed the character of Majnu Bhai in both the movies and fans toasted AK's histrionics.

Fans compared the swag of Majnu Bhai with Pushparaju but threw back the punch that AK is the king.

While AK's fans are celebrating Majnu Bhai's success, the Bollywood actor himself shared a post of a fan on his Twitter handle that showed clips of Anil Kapoor and Allu Arjun with their walking style. The user wrote, "Kitni bhi machak kar chal lo Pushpa, Majnu Bhai ki barabari nahi kar paaoge!"

Sharing the post, AK wrote, "Thank you brother."

Thank you brother 🙏 https://t.co/Bf9OrARQwh

— Anil Kapoor (@AnilKapoor) February 1, 2022

In the backdrop of the super success, and Allu Arjun trying to step into Anil Kapoor's boots, film critics feel will the south superstar bring the AK magic back on the Bollywood silver screen?

Well, the filmy gossip is after Jeetendra, it's Anil Kapoor who in 80s had delivered big hits on Telugu remakes. 

"This is the beginning of the show. Pura Picture Abhi Baki hai. So hold your guns," opined a critic here.  The one-liner is to wait, watch and enjoy every bit of Allu Arjun's forays. 

Flashback Anil Kapoor

The impression of southern stars stepping into AK's shoes is not new. Anil Kapoor himself in an interview decades ago to a reputed Hindi film magazine then had said many south superstars are copying his style. 

Though the BTown actor didn't name anyone, his indications were towards Daggubati Venkatesh. 

In fact, in the 1990s, in the films like Anari and Taqdeerwala, in which the South superstar had donned a look that had a close resemblance with Anil Kapoor's look in several movies like Eeswar, Beta and Mr India of 1980s.

For a fan of Munna/Majnu Bhai aka Anil Kapoor, hits like Meri Jung, Karma, Ram Lakhan et al make them go nostalgic. But big trivia is the Bollywood superstar made his debut with a Telugu movie. 

Years back in a presser, Anil Kapoor had opened up all about his struggling life and his initial days in the industry, before achieving the exalted status - when the erstwhile popular tabloid - The Screen had captioned 'Ek Do Teen Chaar.... Anil Kapoor Is The New Superstar. The film magazine said so after Tezaab had become the blockbuster.

Hum Paanch, a 1980 movie starring Sanjeev Kumar, Shabana Azmi, Mithun Chakraborty, Nasiruddin Shah, Raj Babbar, Gulshan Grover and Amrish Puri was produced by Anil's brother Boney Kapoor. Anil had a cameo appearance in the movie and it was his brother's maiden venture as a producer. 

However, remembering those days, Anil said that he worked as a spot boy in the movie. "I was in Bangalore, Mysore and Melukote during the shooting of Hum Paanch. I used to serve tea to everyone on the set. I was a casting director as well as the production manager. I have very good memories from the sets."

"The director of the movie was Baapu (sahab). I am what I am because of him. When other actors were on break, he asked me to stand in their place. I was overenthusiastic and he identified the passion within me. He offered me a Telugu film 'Vamsa Vruksham' which was my debut flick as the lead actor," he said.

He went on to add, "I brought the rushes (video clips) of the movie to Bombay (now Mumbai) and approached to many. After many tries, Ramesh Sippy offered me a movie titled Shatranj which starred Amitabh Bachchan, Amzad Khan and Me. The three "A"s in one movie. But the movie was not made. I took it in a positive way and later the movie was once again made with myself in the lead in place of Amitabh. My character was portrayed by Javed Jaffri and Amzad's character was portrayed by Amrish Puri. The new title of the movie was 'Meri Jung'.

Well, it is Allu Arjun or the director or the makers who can reveal the real reason behind Pushpa's walking style, but fans of AK are celebrating it comparing it with Majnu Bhai and Anil Kapoor himself is quite elated over it.