Allu Arjun is a star. If there was any doubt about it, which there wasn’t after the success of Pushpa: The Rise, the sequel Pushpa 2: The Rule puts all of it to rest. Allu Arjun easily steals the show as Pushpa, whether he is fighting goons with his hands and feet tied, dancing in a frenzy, outsmarting opponents one bullock cart at a time or breaking down and crying.
What is also true is that there is very little of anything else in Pushpa 2, despite its unforgiveably long runtime, to compete with. The first film’s appeal was the relatability of red sandalwood smuggler Pushpa and how he used his street smarts and intelligence to rise up through the ranks of the smuggling syndicate. In Pushpa 2: The Rule, instead of anything new, director Sukumar gives us more of the same, except this time Pushpa feels like a superhuman who even defies laws of physics to maintain his rule.
Sukumar sacrifices story and logic to play to the fandom of Allu Arjun as he sets up set piece after set piece to show off the Telugu star in this massy entertainer. Not that some of the set pieces aren’t magnificent, like the Gangamma Jathara sequence which drew deafening applause in the movie hall. But many of those sequences are also overlong and test your patience. In fact, most of the film suffers from this excess, whether it is exaggerated characters or inconceivable events.
Pushpa 2: The Rule starts in Japan like the first film, with Pushpa turning up to beat up some goons. The movie then skips back to the Seshachalam Hills (we never go back to the Japan scene again) where everyone is now under Pushpa’s rule, from the politicians to the policemen. He is happily married to Sreevalli (Rasmika Mandanna) — the ickiness of their interactions from the first film still lingers despite all the championing of female sexuality and desire — and lives in a lavish mansion with her and his mother. But he is still haunted by the refusal of his half-brother to acknowledge him as family.
Some of the best moments of the sequel, just like the first film, come when Pushpa pits his wits against SP Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat (Fahadh Faasil). Their one-two tango is a delight to watch, and one conversation between the two, done entirely through hand gestures, is one of the highlights of the film. Only this time the psychotic appeal of Faasil’s character tips over into caricature and he comes off mostly as a goof rather than a fierce opponent, again an example of the excess that undermines the film.
With Pushpa’s growing power — he changes the chief minister because the previous one had refused to be photographed with Pushpa, as requested by Sreevalli — it is obvious that his number of enemies will also grow. In comes a new minister, his brother and his nephew who challenge Pushpa’s hold and sway. They give Arjun, oops, Pushpa (not flower, not fire, but wildfire) the chance to defend his niece’s honour (another 20-minute sequence) and a happily ever after.
After three and a half hours of a testosterone overdose (Rashmika Mandanna gets one meaty scene which, to be fair, was more than she had in the first film), you would think that would be that, despite all the loopholes and questions, but no, you can look forward to a third instalment of Allu Arjun doing his signature moves and uttering taglines in Pushpa 3: The Rampage.