Pushpa 2 - The Rule : Movie Review

In the second instalment of Pushpa 2 – The Rule, the lead actor Allu Arjun doesn’t disappoint his fans one bit. From the first scene till the end, it’s Arjun who carries confidently, the might of the expectations of the much awaited film on his shoulders. And how he does it deftly, so easily, is something that’s worth appreciating.

In the first part Pushpa - The Rise (2021), Pushpa Raj, a coolie who is involved in transporting red sanders smuggled from the forests, becomes a local thug and begins to be a part of the syndicate. Over time, he becomes a notorious criminal, by transporting truck loads of the well guarded tree logs, which are banned from hunting and transporting unofficially.

In the sequel, we see Pushparaj continue his “raj” and this time, he is a lot more aggressive in his dealings with the cops.

Pushparaj and Srivalli’s (Rashmika Mandanna) romance track goes on one side. They are married now and their overtures are – well over the top in some scenes (sic).

Jagapathi Babu, Dhananjaya, Rao Ramesh, Sunil, Anusuya Bharadwaj and a few others play important characters alongside Pushpa.

Meanwhile, Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat, Superintendent of Police (Fahad Fazil) of Chitoor sets on a wild goose chase to catch Pushpa red handed with the red sanders, but is not so mucky in a few attempts.

In the prequel, Pushpa makes the cop walk half naked and now in the second instalment, Shekawat wants to take revenge on him by making him apologise in public. Pushpa does apologise in public to Shekhawat, but after that, insults him even more worse, in a manner that Shekawat is beyond shock.

What happens in the end, does the SP manage to jail Pushpa? Or do any of them get killed brutally? That’s the climax of the story.

Watch in theatres if you wish to enjoy the entire sequence in the big screen or wait for it to be screen on Netflix early Jan. ‘25.

Director Sukumar has once again carried the weight of the movie on Arjun’s shoulders with a neat screenplay, but with a shared responsibility this time, on Fahad Fazil.

As I watched the film in Tamil, I felt that I could have missed sarcasm and punch dialogues massively loaded in many dialogues, which was a highlight in the Part 1. 

The tamil dubbed version is not bad at all, so to say.

Music Directors Devi Sriprasad and Thaman have done justice.

The Producers, Mythri Movie Makers, have cleverly utilised both the top 2 music directors of Tollywood in current times – Devi Sriprasad for the songs and Thaman for the background music, to engage and attract the fans of both musicians. 

Another musician Sam CS has also scored additional background music, though we do not know which part or sequences that he has done.

The songs are all thumping with beats and are going to be remembered for a long time to come, for sure, especially at parties in AP & Telangana. It is to be noted that the music rights alone were acquired by T-Series for a whopping INR 65 Crores.

Miroslaw Kuba Brozek from Poland has handled the Cinematography, especially of the dense forests of Malkangiri in Odisha where a lot of scenes were shot and he doesn’t disappoint us one bit. 

Editor Naveen Nooli has ensured the already long film that runs for over 200 mins, is not abruptly cut-off at certain places, especially.

The last 15 mins are melodrama overloaded, with Pushpa rejoining his estranged family by saving the daughter of his step-brother. 

During his neice’s wedding, which Pushpa attends with his immediate family, a bomb goes off and we see the announcement of Pushpa 3 - the Revenge. 

This should keep the “Pushpa” franchise fans hooked on for the next 18-24 months or so when the next instalment is going to be released in 2026.

Overall, Pushpa is a treat to watch for the ardent fans of Allu Arjun, and families are sure to enjoy. 

Unlike the recently released Kanguva feat. Tamil Actor Surya in multiple languages, which had a huge pre-release marketing campaign but was a box office flop, Pushpa 2 has been in the news ever since the film hit the floors in 2023.

Produced at an estimated investment of INR 500 Cr., the movie is expected to rake in upwards of INR 700 Crores in the coming weeks.

Hope December makes up for the slow / low collections during the past few months with Pushpa 2, being a pan-India release across 12,000 screens in India.

The advance bookings have broken records as well, with over INR 100 Cr collected before the release (of which 30% is overseas), second only to the multi-starrer of the year Kalki 2898 AD.