Allu Arjun stuns in bald beast mode for Atlee’s Raaka, co-starring Deepika Padukone; fans compare avatar to Planet of the Apes

Why it matters

Exactly a year after announcing that Allu Arjun would star in a film directed by Atlee, Sun Pictures has unveiled the title and first look of the much-anticipated project on the actor’s 44th birthday on Wednesday.

Key takeaways

• Raaka will also see the reunion of Atlee with Deepika, who had a memorable extended guest appearance as Shah Rukh’s wife in Jawan.
• You may have heard this before, but you can hear it from me — he is creating something you’ve never experienced or seen in Indian cinema before,” said the Dhurandhar actor.
• Some X users joked that Atlee seems to have a “bald fetish”, given he also presented Shah Rukh Khan in a bald avatar in one of his looks from the 2023 blockbuster action thriller Jawan.
• Many also hailed Arjun’s dramatic transformation to be as striking as Andy Serkis’ Caesar in the popular Hollywood franchise, Planet of the Apes.