The 69th National Film Awards winners were revealed on August 24 through announcements made by the respective heads of the jury members.
Among the awardees, Allu Arjun was awarded the Best Actor award for his remarkable performance in “Pushpa: The Rise.” On the other hand, the Best Actress accolade was jointly conferred upon Alia Bhatt for her role in “Gangubai Kathiawadi” and Kriti Sanon for her portrayal in “Mimi.”
Acknowledging her win, Alia Bhatt reposted a congratulatory message from Allu Arjun and reciprocated the appreciation by praising his exceptional performance, referring to herself as his biggest fan. Similarly, Kriti Sanon took to Twitter to express her enthusiasm for having manifested a desire to work with Allu Arjun and conveyed her anticipation for watching “Pushpa: The Rule.”
A few years ago, when a Bollywood heroine accepted to be a part of a Telugu film, it was considered a big thing and an honor for the Telugu industry. When Katrina Kaif accepted to be a part of Malliswari, Sonali Bendre in Murari, Amisha Patel in Badri, and Preity Zinta in Premante Idera, it felt like they were doing a favor by acting opposite Telugu heroes.
But now things have changed. Post the global success of Baahubali, RRR, and Pushpa, the North Indian heroines are literally dying to work in the South.
They have realized that very few saleable heroes are left in Bollywood, so they know the future is down south, as pan-Indian heroes are emerging consistently from the South. To remain relevant and have a prosperous career, they need to bag some biggies in the South, especially in Tollywood.
The buttering up of Allu Arjun by Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon is a prime example of how tides have changed in the last few years.
