Hyderabad, Dec 29 (IANS): 'Pushpa: The Rise' has been making waves for a lot of reasons. And one of them is the intense role of the antagonist Shekhawat essayed flawlessly by Malayalam actor Fahadh Faasil.

'Pushpa' lead star Allu Arjun said that he was really wishing that Fahadh would come on board the project.

"I was wishing that he did this character because it needs a very powerful antagonist. Someone who has got a star presence. The moment he agreed and came on board it was wonderful. To see him perform in live was very nice. Because I have seen his work on screen but still there's a loss of generation. When you see the actor perform live, it's a different experience altogether," Allu Arjun told IANS.

Director Sukumar prefers casting Telugu-speaking actors in the main roles of his movies. When it came to casting for 'Pushpa' too, he largely stuck to his practice. The reason although is based on practicality for Sukumar.

"What happens with me is I keep changing dialogues on set. Scene will remain but I often improvise on dialogue. That's why I prefer actors who know Telugu. Even Dhananjay from Kannada, he knows Telugu very well. He speaks Telugu. Rashmika she speaks Telugu. Even if you give her the dialogue on the spot. It becomes easy." Sukumar told IANS.

But Sukumar made an exception in case of Fahadh. Although he doesn't speak Telugu, the director was eager cast him in 'Pushpa: The Rise'. "Im a big fan of his from the beginning. I liked his performance in 'Maheshinte prateekaram'. Allu Arjun is capable of delivering his performance. I wanted to see them on one screen. I wanted to create electricity between them. Not fight or violence. When they talk, it should like a fight. people should feel the tension through their emotions." Sukumar elaborated.

Going by the audience reactions, and movie collections, the casting seems to have worked out well, especially in Kerala where Allu Arjun's movies dubbed in Malayalam have a very good following.

'Pushpa: The Rise' released in five languages has been having a good run at the box-office ever since its release on December 17. The movie is set against the backdrop of red sandalwood smuggling in Andhra Pradesh.