Fact Check: Allu Arjun visits Shiva temple after success of Pushpa 2? No, image is from 2017

Hyderabad: Pushpa 2, directed by Sukumar and starring Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna, was released in theatres on December 5, 2024. The movie had a massive release, screening in over 12,000 theatres worldwide. In India, it was shown on over 6,500 screens, with 4,500 dedicated to the Hindi version, marking the country’s largest release of a dubbed film.

In this context, an image of Allu Arjun and his wife with their kids visiting a temple has been circulating on social media, claiming that the family visited a Shiva temple after the success of Pushpa 2. It is also claimed that after the success of Pushpa 2, the actor refused to endorse a famous liquor brand losing out on Rs 10 crores.

A Facebook user shared the image with Hindi text on it that read, “Following the success of Pushpa 2, Allu Arjun turned down a Rs 10 crore offer from a renowned liquor brand and visited a Shiva temple with his family. Isn’t that worth congratulating?” (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading. The actor’s visit to a temple as seen in the viral photo and his decision not to promote dependency-forming substances (pan masala and alcohol) was before Pushpa 2’s success.

First part: Allu Arjun visited a Shiv temple after Pushpa 2’s success.

We ran a keyword search about Allu Arjun visiting a temple and came across a report by International Business Times (IBT) published on February 6, 2017, titled ‘Allu Arjun visits Tirupati with his family - Sneha, Ayaan and Arha.’ The report carried four photos, including the viral one of the family visiting the Tirumala Temple.

We also found a video of the family visiting the temple published by V6 News Telugu on February 6, 2017, titled ‘Actor Allu Arjun And Family Visits Tirumala Temple.’ The viral visuals appear after 0.43 seconds into the video.

We also searched for reports about the actor visiting a Shiv temple but found none. Therefore, the claim that the actor visited a Shiv temple after Pushpa 2’s success is misleading.

Second part: Allu Arjun turned down Rs 10 crores from a famous liquor brand refusing to promote it after Pushpa 2’s success.

We conducted a keyword search and found reports from December 2023 by Hindustan Times and News18 stating that Telugu star Allu Arjun had declined an endorsement offer from a liquor and pan masala brand.

The brand proposed displaying its logo on-screen whenever the character ‘Pushpa’ smoked or chewed pan. According to Gulte, the brand had offered a hefty sum of Rs 10 crore to the film’s makers, but Allu Arjun rejected the offer, expressing his discomfort with promoting such brands. Therefore, it is clear that the actor declined the offer before the release of Pushpa 2.

Therefore, the claim is misleading.