Director Sukumar’s Pushpa: The Rise, released in 2021, received international attention on Tuesday when Wimbledon posted an image of Novak Djokovic recreating the protagonist Allu Arjun’s iconic pose, sliding his hand along his chin, on its official Instagram handle.

The image also had the Serbian player’s name written in Telugu, using the same title font as the blockbuster Telugu film. The Pushpa tribute was complete with a caption that read, “Rukega nahi aur jhukega bhi nahi”, a now-iconic dialogue from the movie.

The image quickly went viral on social media. A fan wrote, "Best. Post. Ever. As a Telugu tennis player, I’m over the moon".

Pushpa’s official X handle also reposted the image, jubilantly stating, “From Seshachalam to Centre Court…#PushpaRaj’s attitude goes global!” Tagging Djokovic’s official X handle, the caption further added that, "It's not just a gesture, it’s a global statement.”

The post came just ahead of the seven-time Wimbledon winner’s faceoff with France’s Alexander Muller in the first round of Wimbledon 2025.

Sri Lankan cricketer Wanindu Hasaranga had also imitated the gesture during the last edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Telugu action-drama film has become one of the highest-grossing Indian films worldwide, with the hit track ‘Oo Antava’ recently being in the news for copyright infringement.