In an interview with Galatta Plus, screenwriter Rathna Kumar revealed that the AA23 was going to be a “proper pan-Indian film” not due to its cast, main character or setting, but because the “story has a very international appeal.” He went on to say that when Allu Arjun was working on a project, it was easier to shape the project in whatever way they wanted. Rathna was also excited to interact with the Pushpa 2 star.
Allu Arjun
As for the film, Rathna shared that work on the untitled film was moving at a brisk pace. They had already spent three weeks talking to their lead actor. He confirmed that “work will begin in the second week of May.”
Fans can look forward to more info about the Lokesh and Allu Arjun collaboration in the coming weeks. It will be Lokesh’s seventh feature after hits such as Kaithi (2019) and Vikram (2022). The upcoming film is going to be Allu Arjun’s 23rd project. He is currently working on Atlee’s Raaka with co-star Deepika Padukone.
More about AA23
The title announcement of AA23 in January 2026 on the occasion of Sankranti seemed to suggest that the Telugu film would be a Western-style feature. A specially created animated teaser, with red tones, had a 23 musical theme composed by Anirudh Ravichander that got fans talking. Apart from Lokesh and Arjun working together for the first time, this marks the first collaboration between Anirudh and the Pushpa star.
Additionally, the animation teases the ‘Icon Star’ as an unstoppable force. He walks past a campfire to climb atop his horse on a cliff near his house. The latter half of the teaser shows a pack of wolves trying to attack a lion, but the king of the jungle’s booming roar scares them away.