“Someone motivated me to do that by saying that I don’t think any South actors can come up with six packs,” Allu Arjun recalls being the first South Indian actor to have six-pack abs. The Pushpa 2 star also gave insights into his fitness journey.
With his sculpted physique and effortless swagger, Allu Arjun has long been admired not just for his acting and dance moves but also for setting new fitness standards in Indian cinema. At the WAVES Summit 2025 held on May 1 at Mumbai’s Jio World Centre, the Pushpa 2 fame offered a rare glimpse into the discipline, challenges, and motivation behind his iconic six-pack abs.
Speaking during the session ‘Talent Beyond Borders’, Arjun opened up about how he became one of the first actors in the South to break traditional body image norms, sharing an honest and humorous backstory behind his transformation.
Allu Arjun is christened as Tollywood`s first six pack hero. The stylish star first introduced the concept of six pack abs` in the tinsel town for his film Desamuduru` and made fans go gaga over his physique.#IndianStyleIconAlluArjun @alluarjun pic.twitter.com/C5qlNdryct
— Vinay M (@vinayallu88) August 30, 2020
‘Someone motivates me… I took the personal challenge’
Reflecting on his early years in the industry, Arjun discussed how having six-pack abs was once a rarity in South Indian cinema. He shared, “Back in the day, around maybe almost 20 years back, it was something that was never done before by any other South actor. And it said that, you know, culturally, it’s not accepted, and there were many taboos around that.”
He further shared the motivation behind having six-pack abs. He stated, “I knew that it’s a great sign; if you just do it for once, it just needs one person to break the jinx, you know.”
“Someone motivated me to do that by saying that I don’t think any South actors can come up with six packs. It’s one of my actresses who I worked with in that and then I took the personal challenge, and I just did it for my people,” he concluded.
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