In the past five to six years, Telugu heroes have seen a big rise in popularity. There’s no doubt about that.
Prabhas, Allu Arjun, NTR, Ram Charan, and Mahesh Babu have all proven their strength at the box office.
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When everything clicks, their films can compete with the biggest Bollywood hits. Many of their movies are now seen as true pan-India projects.
But there’s one noticeable trend: none of these stars are doing pure Bollywood Hindi films as a solo lead. If they step into the Hindi market, it’s only through multi starrers.
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Take Ram Charan, for example. He once acted in Zanjeer (released in Telugu as Toofan). The film flopped badly.
After that, he avoided solo Hindi films. Prabhas tried with Adipurush but faced a brutal backlash. Though more offers came his way, he didn’t chase them.
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NTR is now working on War 2 alongside Hrithik Roshan. Again, it’s a multistarrer. Allu Arjun is also rumored to be playing Arjuna in Aamir Khan’s version of Mahabharata. His Atlee’s film will also feature a big Hindi star as padding for North Indian audience, according to reports.
Yash is also doing a pure Bollywood film with Ranbir in Ramayana. Ram Charan is open to Bollywood, but only if it’s a multistarrer. He might join Dhoom 4 along with Ranbir Kapoor, if things fall in place.
This is actually a smart move. It helps South stars test the waters in Bollywood without risking too much.
The Hindi audience has a different mindset. They do enjoy dubbed South films, but fully accepting Southern actors as Hindi cinema leads is still a challenge.
In the past, solo Hindi film attempts by South heroes didn’t go well—like Chiranjeevi with Gentleman, Nagarjuna with Criminal, and Venkatesh with Taqdeerwala.
That’s why big pan-India hits like Baahubali, RRR, Pushpa, and KGF are rare—those films succeeded more because of directors like Rajamouli and Sukumar.
If Telugu heroes want long-term success in Bollywood, they need to build a stronger connection with Hindi audiences. They need to make viewers feel, “These are our heroes too.” Multistarrers are the perfect way to break the ice.
NTR is already moving in the right direction. Allu Arjun seems to be following. If tier-2 stars also can follow this strategy, then there’s a good chance Telugu heroes will find even bigger and lasting success in Bollywood.
However, Prabhas is right now the only actor who can still make an impact in a straight Bollywood film without the support of Telugu directors.
