3 hours 20 minutes 38 seconds | Action-Drama | 05-12-2024

Cast: Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna, Fahadh Faasil, Rao Ramesh, Sunil, Anasuya, Ajay Ghosh, Jagapathi Babu, others

Director: Sukumar

Naveen Yerneni, Ravi Shankar produced

Banner-Mythri Movie Makers, Sukumar Writings

Music: Devi Sri Prasad

Pushpa: The Rise, the first film in the Pushpa franchise, was released in theaters on December 17, 2021, following the Covid lockdowns. It was a major hit in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam. ‘Pushparaj’ has become a household name, and Allu Arjun got a national award from the Indian government for his outstanding performance. In December 2024, Allu Arjun and Sukumar return with Pushpa: The Rule, the second Pushpa film. The stakes are high this time, and Pushpa: The Rule is India’s most anticipated film. Today, the film debuted to high expectations. Do Allu Arjun and Sukumar deliver again? Did Allu Arjun win another national award? What hurdles did ‘Pushparaj’ confront after becoming the top red sandal smuggling brand? Is Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat’s retribution on Pushpa complete? Did Devi Sri Prasad release another hit album? Let’s analyze it thoroughly.

About what?

Srivalli (Rashmika Mandanna) wants her husband, Pushpa Raj (Allu Arjun), to take a photo with the state Chief Minister, but he refuses because Pushpa is a smuggler. The story continues with Pushpa’s reaction to the Chief Minister’s denial, his challenges as head of the Red Sandal smuggling syndicate, and Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat’s (Fahadh Faasil) revenge for the question he faced in the first part.

Performances:

In the first film, Allu Arjun played Pushpa well and got a national award. He surpassed himself in ‘Pushpa2: The Rule’. In Jathara, he performed every area of his face well. He was the finest in seven to eight scenes, including the climax breakdown. This is his best performance and he could win a national award again.

Fahadh Faasil as Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat is hilarious. His timing lit up the screens and made the audience laugh many times. Though his character’s script was flawed, his easy acting made up for it. Sri Valli actor Rashmika Manadanna excels. From passionate to emotional to dancing in the ‘Pellings’ song, she lived as Srivalli.

Sreeleela danced effectively in the ‘Kissik’ song and competed with Allu Arjun, but she lacks Samantha’s screen presence, which made her stand out in ‘Oo Antava Oo Oo Antava’ in the first half. As Siddappa, Rao Ramesh excelled. Ajay made the most of his climax sequence. Jagadeesh played Keshava competently but lacks depth and surprise. Jagapathi Babu, Sunil, and Anasuya performed admirably despite minimal screen time.

Technicalities:

Four Devi Sri Prasad songs work well. ‘Sooseki’ is the best tune and might rule the country’s playlist for a long time. Film background score by Devi Sri Prasad and Sam CS. Their work is mixed. The background score is good in several passages but could have been better. Several sequences had sync sound difficulties.

The cinematography by Mirosław Kuba Brożek is impressive. In the Jathara Episode, his chance sequence and lovely green woodland shots are noteworthy. Better editing from Naveen Nooli, especially in the second half. First-rate production from Mythri Movie Makers. They invested heavily in the picture, which shows. Decent VFX. Neither good nor awful.

Positives:

Allu Arjun’s One-Time Performance
20-Minute Jathara Episode Interval Sequence
Four Great Songs
Sukumar writes and directs
Fahadh Faasil’s Fun Act
In the Jathara episode, Rashmika’s outburst sequence had shortcomings.

Weak antagonists, editing in the second half, and sound sync issues in some scenes. Analysis:

‘I can’t stand a chance if Sukumar stops doing cerebral brain-twisting films and jumps into making commercial mass masala flicks’, stated S S Rajamouli years ago. He was totally right. The cult classic commercial film Rangasthlam was Sukumar’s first venture outside his comfort zone. The Pushpa franchise followed. Sukumar showed his commercial mass director side in ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ and his greatest in ‘Pushpa2: The Rule’. He seamlessly combined ‘Sukumar Writings’ sensibility with goosebumps-inducing commercial components.

From the start, he was right. The first half of the film follows the Sukumar pattern, with modest character development for Pushpa Raj, and finishes with a great interval sequence. Despite a brief slowdown in the first half, he ended it on a high note with a great pre-interval sequence.

The second half shows a different Sukumar. The writing, directing, choreography, and performance of Allu Arjun in the ‘Jathara’ episode is outstanding. The film is worth seeing in theaters for this 20-minute episode. The way he integrated the ‘Peelings’ and ‘Kissik’ songs into the plot narration shows his creative ability. Another genius move by the maverick director is the climax episode’s payoff to the ‘Jathara’ episode with the hero’s similar outfit.

The director in Sukumar never overdid the husband-wife passages between Pushpa and Sivalli, but some may criticize. His writing and dialogue about Pushpa and Srivalli’s love and willingness to help each other are great. Another amazing scene is Ajay’s emotional collapse in the end. His writing and thought-provoking talks regarding the role of a wife in a man’s life and appreciating women are excellent. Women will applaud him.

The picture lacks a strong adversary. Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat, Prathap Reddy, Bugga Reddy, Siddappa, Mangalam Srinu, and Dakshayani are the antagonists, but none of them challenge Pushparaj. He wins every time. Sukumar and the writing team should have given the protagonist more difficult tasks. The second portion needed tighter editing.

Few problems marred Pushpa2: The Rule, but the pros outweighed them. Allu Arjun’s best performance and ‘Mass Commercial’ Sukumar’s scripting and direction make the film exciting and worth seeing in packed theaters.

Pushpa 2’s day 1 international gross should exceed Rs 250 crore.

With these early forecasts, ‘Pushpa 2’ is likely to gross about Rs 250 crore worldwide on its opening day, a milestone for any Indian film. With ‘Pushpa 2’, the Hindi-dubbed south movie’s theatrical-to-OTT window has grown. If the movie has good word of mouth and draws crowds in the coming days, this will boost its statistics. The Hindi version will also top Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Jawan’ early day sales. Allu Arjun’s ‘Pushpa 2’ gets 40,000 shows on day 1—the most for an Indian film.