WAVES 2025: Nagarjuna talks about Coolie, Pushpa and Pan-India success; says, “Larger than life heroes still work”

At the ongoing WAVE Summit 2025 in Mumbai, veteran actor Nagarjuna joined a panel discussion on the idea of Pan-India cinema, alongside actors Anupam Kher, Khushbu, and Karthi. The session, titled Pan-Indian Cinema: Myth or Momentum, explored the changing dynamics of Indian cinema and what makes a film resonate across linguistic and regional boundaries.

 

WAVES 2025: Nagarjuna talks about Coolie, Pushpa and Pan-India success; says, “Larger than life heroes still work”

 

Reflecting on the massive success of films like Pushpa, KGF, and Baahubali across the country, Nagarjuna said the audience's desire to escape everyday hardships has amplified their love for larger-than-life heroes. “Both the Pushpa films made more money in the North than in Telugu. We have seen similar stories in Telugu before, like Pushpa, which has larger-than-life heroes. Whereas in the North—in Bihar, UP, and Punjab—they wanted to see their heroes like Pushpa Raj, Yash in KGF or Baahubali. They wanted to see larger-than-life heroes,” he said.

 

“For Indian people and culture, just living day to day is difficult, and when they want to overcome the stress by watching films, they want to see magic on screen. That's what the larger-than-life stories are doing, without losing the fundamentals of Indian storytelling,” he added.

 

Nagarjuna stressed the importance of staying rooted to one’s native language and cultural context when making films. “Rajamouli shot Baahubali frame to frame, thinking it is a Telugu film. He was very proud of his roots and language, and he shot it like a Telugu film, and people loved it across the world! If you are rooted to your storytelling, it will resonate,” he said.

 

The actor also addressed the scepticism some viewers may have towards highly stylised action sequences. “You might say, 'A guy raises his fist and 20 people fall, it looks abnormal!' But if you like Marvel or DC films, Superman does the same thing, but they give the logic of them having 'superpowers'. But we don't need those special powers! The common man, the ticket-paying audience, including me, wants to watch my heroes larger than life.”

 

Looking ahead, Nagarjuna has two major releases lined up—Kuberaa with Dhanush and Coolie, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, which also stars Rajinikanth, Aamir Khan, Upendra, and Shruti Haasan. He shared that both projects remain deeply tied to their linguistic roots. “Lokesh made it thinking it is a Tamil film. So, if it works in your language, it will work everywhere,” he concluded.

 

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