In the 1990s, when Salman Khan went shirtless in movies, many wondered how come male Telugu stars were not doing it in glamorous scenes. Nagarjuna went shirtless in a song or two. Generally speaking, self-sexualization was not the order of the day among Telugu actors.
When it came to muscular looks, southern Indian stars were not seen as role models. Allu Arjun decided to break the "stereotype" by opting for a six-pack abs look in Desamuduru.
Speaking at a summit in Mumbai, the Pushpa 2 actor revealed that one of his female co-stars had remarked in private that southern stars couldn't do it. Allu Arjun took it up as a challenge. He decided to break out of the conventional mould.
"Fitness is a very keen aspect of every actor because especially being an Indian actor you have to dance, you have to fight, and you do not know when the schedule might start up," Allu Arjun said.
