Allu Arjun and Sukumar’s action sequel

In the pantheon of contemporary Indian film protagonists, Pushpa stands out.

He begins as a man on the margins – a daily wage earner with a feminine name meaning “flower” and a mountain-sized splinter on his sloping shoulders. But Pushpa was very smart and fearless, and soon he was promoted to the leader of the sandalwood smuggling group and became the godfather of Chittoor City.

However, power and money cannot drive Pushpa. Above all, he wants respect and legitimacy, but he was denied these as a child because his father was never legally married to his mother. Pushpa looks as invincible as a Marvel superhero. But like in Amitabh Bachchan DuvalPushpa, who has “mera baap chor hai” (“My father is a thief”) tattooed on his arm, also has permanent scars. This is a powerful combination.

Writer-director Sukumar Bandreddi’s gorgeous and fertile imagination finds apt expression in the talent and dedication of Allu Arjun, Allu Arjun lives in Pushpa as if he was never anyone else. exist Pushpa 2: Rulesthe cast romances, dances, cries, swaggers, mutilates and murders. Sometimes he would beat men to a pulp while wearing makeup, a sari, earrings and bangles. I honestly don’t know many leading men who can do that.

The sequel is designed to be India’s biggest event film and Sukumar and Arjun don’t take the lazy route (despite an absolutely forgettable dance number). There’s sweat, ambition, and audacity in this movie. However, we have to ask: how much Pushpa too much Pushpa? Because three hours and twenty minutes is definitely too much.

Like his heroes, Sukumar was fearless. 2021 Pushpa: Risewho introduces a new character Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat (Fahadh Faasil) in the last 25 minutes of the film. Here, he created one dazzling highlight after another.

At least for the first half, the plot mainly consists of Pushpa and Shekhawat trying to outwit each other. Pushpa is now an international player who can rig elections and the chief ministership. But he also had to smuggle thousands of tons of sandalwood out of India. He also needs to make his wife Srivalli (Rashmika Mandanna) happy. The terrible Pushpa sat beside her in the kitchen and once kissed her feet. In the second half, the focus shifts to Pushpa’s extended family as new enemies emerge. (Of course this story will continue Pushpa 3: Rampage.)

Sukumar is not short of ideas. There are some creative and surprising moments in the film that will have you clapping your hands. The block before the interval may make you laugh out loud. Although the action is intense – Pushpa chops off limbs at one point – there are still some thrilling moments that will make you cry. Pushpa as its own brand also has a lot of tricks up its sleeve. “When there’s Pushpa, there’s business,” he declares at the beginning of the film.

Sukumar also allows other characters to flourish. Shekhawat is essentially from Shammi Kumbarangi Nightalso played by Faasil, wears a uniform and takes steroids. He is truly insane. Mandanna had to do a lot of energetic acrobatic dance, but she did have one performance that was an eye-opener. She gave Srivalli the courage to fight against Arjun.

but Pushpa 2: Rules The problem arises since it is in max mode from the first frame to the last frame. There is no place for stillness or pause here. It’s a turbocharged narrative that stretches out so long that the controls inevitably slacken. I wonder if Sukumar is just too enamored with his creation.

Scene after scene shows Pushpa’s cunning and courage. In the first half hour, the film celebrates its heroes so much that it feels like we’re seeing different slow-motion introductions over and over again. The cat-and-mouse game between Pushpa and Shekhawat also becomes repetitive.

Devi Sri Prasad’s songs only add to the length. The composer who gave us the unforgettable songs “Oo Antava” and “Srivalli” in the first film cannot repeat that magic here. But the background score, also provided by DSP, and additional score by Sam CS, go a long way in amplifying the action.

weakest link Pushpa 2: Rules is a subplot involving an underwritten female character who is only included to further the hero’s development. Much like the teacher inside Simba Or the teacher is here Vityanshe’s basically sexual assault fodder, and the depiction of sexual assault here is unnecessarily crude.

The laws of logic or physics don’t apply to a movie like this Pushpa 2but we end up with a sequence where Pushpa fights and defeats dozens of knife-wielding men while his hands and feet are tied. He was like a missile, propelling himself in different directions, and even his teeth became deadly weapons. He seemed to be a man possessed by divine rage. It’s almost ridiculous, and these many moving parts don’t always fit together coherently. But Arjun still holds on, all guns blazing.

I walked out of the theater excited to see Pushpa 3: Rampagebut it’s also so exhausting that I’m grateful these films took several years to create. We need time to think about Pushpa and time to recover from him.