The most shocking, the most unexpected thing about Sukumar's Pushpa 2: The Rule is that it opens with a scene set in Japan. This is not the welcome I was expecting after the events of the first Pushpa. What is the titular character, played by Allu Arjun, doing here? The answer arrives before the bloodbath (many Japanese men meet their maker), but the movie doesn't make everything clear. Why Japan? What exactly occurred before these opening moments? Who is that guy who shoots Pushpa and triggers a long flashback? Wikipedia tells me that the movie was initially planned to be released in two parts. An efficient filmmaker can easily compress the events of The Rise and The Rule and fit them into a sharp, single film. Sukumar, though, likes the smell of money, so he has created a franchise out of something narrow and flimsy. He has overinflated a paper-thin script; he doesn't want to stop at merely two films. Yet, it would be stupid to dismiss Pushpa 2 as "a dumb, expensive movie." Sukumar knows what he is doing, and even though he doesn't always succeed, he locates all the right buttons and pushes them fervently to give the audience a high. The feeling of euphoria is so intense that not everybody would stop to consider what they are reacting to and if their response is morally right.
The "hero" of Pushpa is a smuggler who follows his own rules, not the ones made by the government. When some men kidnap his niece (Pavani Karanam), he closes the borders. The police officers stand in the background like mute spectators. The politicians fail to tame his wild nature. He creates a tornado out of small things, like a sorry and a photograph request. Pushpa puts himself on a pedestal and, with his power, keeps VIPs (the rich, the politicians) in his pocket. The audience has always liked heroes for their larger-than-life image. They do on screen what we wish we could do in real life. However, the appeal of someone like Pushpa has grown in recent years. People have started losing trust in the justice system, and many consider violence to be the ultimate solution for all the problems. Don't give a suspect a fair chance in front of the judges. Kill him without providing him with an opportunity to prove his innocence. Do you think someone has illegally built a house on a piece of land? Forget warnings or thorough investigation; take a bulldozer and start the demolition process. The word Jungle Raj is used by some people to describe an Indian state. Characters in Pushpa 2 use the word Pushpa Raj to describe their idol's domain. A sexual predator is killed with a trident, and the people in the theater clap and cheer. The corruption, both in this reel and our real world, is so deep that no one trusts the system to do its job effectively. A "good guy" nowadays is anyone who can handle the situation immediately through violence. Mob justice has become the preferred mode of operation, and any politician who encourages this behavior is seen as "a dangerous, competent tiger" - a visionary leader.
The role models - in such a country, for such citizens - turn out to be criminals. Thugs become heroes, run the country, and make rules for us. The audience is seduced by Pushpa's reckless attitude. They not only take pleasure in his daredevil stunts but also consciously or subconsciously believe that only someone like him is fit to rule the world. This is why you see people favoring dictatorship over democracy. They want to foster a "Sher" (lion) who can satisfy their crude, inane urges. Many citizens don't want a leader; they want an encounter specialist. Everybody is hungry for blood, and Pushpa fulfills their "bloody wishes." He has everything a right-wing puppet nowadays dreams of having: Too much power, an inflated ego, and attractive women. That last thing is provided with respect during speeches or special occasions. Otherwise, she is treated as a sexual object. Srivalli (Rashmika Mandanna), in Pushpa 2, is nothing but a sex joke. Touch her, and she turns horny. Srivalli doesn't mind watching a scantly clad woman (Sreeleela) touching Pushpa and dancing with him (all the songs are terrible, but their choreography is incredible). She is the ideal wife who doesn't interfere with her husband's business and performs household chores obediently - a perfect male fantasy. Sukumar uses a lame trick to defend himself from criticism: He makes Srivalli scold Pushpa so that we can see her as an equal. Why does she become angry? Because he points out that there is too much salt in a dish. It's a poor husband-wife joke that anyway pleases the male gaze because the anger gives way to sexual feelings.
Like some politicians, Pushpa 2 pays lip service to women for brownie points. Its actions are never in sync with the praise it gives to women. Srivalli has little life beyond Pushpa's house and kitchen. Sreeleela does what Samantha did in the first Pushpa: Please the male audience. Anasuya Bharadwaj, as Dakshayani, is present to just curse her husband (Sunil) and SP Bhanwar Singh (Fahadh Faasil). But for the most part, the women in Pushpa 2 are viewed as victims who need a man to save them from villains. It's, after all, a male character who wears the costume, the makeup of a goddess in the film. It feels as if even the female deity wants a man to do her bidding. Women can scream and cry. Pushpa's niece, in an appalling scene, is harassed by some goons while Pushpa (temporarily) lies helplessly on the ground, his hands and legs tied. Sukumar wakes up your primal instincts and, by stretching the niece's harassment, invites you to become a mob of bloodthirsty individuals. Hence, you clap and experience a sense of relief when Pushpa jumps on the goons like an animal and finally uses the trident to kill the "main guy." Cheap? Yes. But you also cannot deny the effect the scene has on your senses.
Sukumar is an expert at crafting and choreographing scenes of violence. The action sequences have a propulsive rhythm. They are so energetic that you are swept away by their vicious force, their brutish imagery. The Jathara Sequence, on the other hand, is more vibrant than all the fight scenes in the film (it loses its power as soon as Srivalli starts singing). Allu Arjun is superb, likable, and convincing. Without his magnetic presence, Pushpa would have collapsed too easily. When you see the character's uneven shoulder, you think it's the result of all the burden, all the responsibilities he has taken for his people's protection and benefit. But what about Fahadh Faasil? Where is that smart, intimidating, angry cop that was promised towards the end of Pushpa: The Rise? Bhanwar Singh becomes an angry clown in the sequel, and he abruptly exits so that a new villain can be included in this film (the man who kidnaps the niece) and a new enemy can be introduced for Part 3. It's all very conventional, very clumsy. Pushpa 2 doesn't have much meat on its body, which is why it, after a point, becomes exhausting. One can clearly see that Sukumar is simply stretching the runtime. There are only so many "mass moments" that we can handle. Sukumar fails terribly in his execution of emotional scenes. When the music starts weeping loudly, you search for earplugs in your pocket and a handkerchief to tie over your eyes. Pushpa 2, alas, is (feebly) structured as a drama (some kids mock a young Pushpa near the beginning, and at the end, he stands with his family), and since Sukumar doesn't handle dramatic beats nicely, we are not too shocked by that final scene. It merely acts as a catalyst for more carnage. And so, the audience is finally asked to wait for a few more years for Pushpa 3: The Rampage.
Final Score- [5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
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Publisher at Midgard Times