WAVES 2025 | 'Imagine if SRK and Allu Arjun collaborated': Vijay Deverakonda on the Power of Crossover Casting

Vijay Deverakonda backs an interesting proposition to globalise Indian cinema: collaboration. The way forward for the industry, he suggested at the ongoing global entertainment summit WAVES 2025, is to lean into cross-regional partnerships.

“SRK sir’s recent film did ₹1000 crores, and so did Allu Arjun anna’s film,” the Telugu actor said, referencing Atlee’s Jawan (2023) and Sukumar’s Pushpa 2: The Rule (2024). “Now imagine they collaborate. When you bring a star from the South and a star from the North, you unite the country, and it creates a space for growth. If we want to grow and get more eyeballs, the only way forward is collaboration.”

Deverakonda pointed to the upcoming War 2, starring Telugu actor Jr NTR and Hindi film star Hrithik Roshan, as a sign that this vision is already materialising. Speaking on a panel alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan and filmmaker Karan Johar, he also addressed the ongoing “North vs. South” discourse that has dominated online film debates.

“Because it was only recently that India discovered south cinema and began celebrating it on a national level, these conversations might make for good headlines,” he said. “It’s stimulating to talk about, but not the most productive thing for cinema.”

The actor also emphasised the need for increased distribution of Indian films. “Just like how we increased South distribution to Hindi, a move that helped open doors for Baahubali (2015), now we need to see how we can set up something that increases distribution of Indian cinema to Europe, the West, and around the world so they know more and more about us.” The increased penetration of cinema is the biggest advertisement for a country and its culture, he added.

The actor is currently gearing up for the release of the anticipated Kingdom, his first collaboration with Jersey filmmaker Gowtam Tinnanuri.