As you’ve said people loved it because of its edginess and storytelling by the director was great as well.

In Tollywood , 99 times out of 100 there is a good guy, bad guy and a Damsel in distress. Your hero is the perfect male and has no flaws, none whatsoever. He maybe poor or rich but that guy can never have any weaknesses.

But Arjun Reddy was different. It demonstrated the vulnerability of the hero. Like in real life, you are your own villian. He is shown at his weakest and he is not some flawless Happy-go-lucky guy who is loved by everyone from his Ammamma to the roadside chai-selling Bhayya. And is out there to save the world (saving poor people from land grabbers or getting back corrupt money, joining two families and normal people don’t do that shit).

And most important thing about the movie was that the protagonist was able to express his frustrations and resentment without mincing his words. This is something which we can’t usually do in real life because doing so has consequences, which is why seeing someone else do that on screen for you can sit well with you because you realize that you are not alone and that people are out there who at least know the kinda shit you go through day in and day out.