Prabhas rejected this film because he didn’t want to play one-sided lover, later Allu Arjun starred in it and the film became a superhit

Prabhas and Allu Arjun are the two superstars who have taken the Telugu cinema to new heights. A decade ago, Prabhas collaborated with SS Rajamouli for Baahubali, and the dynamics of Indian cinema changed. The term pan-India was coined to address the fandom of Prabhas, which was not limited to South, but across India, among the Hindi audience as well. 

A few years after the Baahubali franchise, Allu Arjun came up with his action crime drama, Pushpa Part One: The Rise, which further expanded the horizon of Telugu cinema in North India. Pushpa Part One was a hit in North, but its sequel, Pushpa Part Two: The Rule, was a riot at the box office. Both films performed exceedingly well in Hindi, more than Telugu. Pushpa franchise has been a bigger hit in the North, than the South. 

Both actors have contributed majorly at the box office, but did you know that Prabhas once lost a movie that made Allu Arjun a star? Even before Pushpa, Allu Arjun had a fan following in the Hindi audience, because his films (dubbed in Hindi) are quite popular on television, and filmgoers have enjoyed several of his films on TV already. One of Allu Arjun's popular Hindi dubbed movies was first offered to Prabhas, but he rejected the romantic drama. 

The romantic drama that Prabhas rejected was...

Arya (2004), this film was directed by Sukumar, who later created history at the box office by helming the direction of the Pushpa franchise. This film marked the directorial debut of S Sukumar, and it starred Anuradha Mehta opposite Allu Arjun. The other cast members included Sunil, Siva Balaji, Subbaraju, and Rajan P. Dev. 

Watch the trailer of Arya

Why did Prabhas reject Arya? 

Arya revolves around an outgoing and free-spirited boy falling in love with Geetha (Anuradha), an introverted girl who is on the shield of another person Ajay. Reportedly, Sukumar first approached Prabhas to lead the film, but he didn't want to play a one-sided lover. Thus, he rejected the film.

Box office collection of Arya

Made in the modest budget of Rs 4 crore, the film was a critical and commercial success, earning Rs 30 crores. The film ran for over 125 days, and Arya became a breakthrough in Allu Arjun's career. On the work front, Allu Arjun was last seen in Pushpa 2: The Rule. Whereas, Prabhas was seen in Kalki 2898 AD.