Film: Pushpa 2: The Rule
Director: B Sukumar
Cast: Allu Arjun, Fahadh Faasil, Rashmika Mandanna, Sunil
Rating: 2.5/5
Pushpa 2 Movie Review:
Before I get to the review of Pushpa 2: The Rule is to state that, although I personally have a number of issues with some elements in Pushpa: The Rise, I actually quite liked it. In fact, the time when Allu Arjun bagged the Best Actor National award for his movie—a victory which created a lot of controversy among cinephiles—i was one of the green lights, given how the actor utilised his body very well to do something which isn’t all that easy, when you actually think about it. However, on the aspect of whether or not the performances in masala movies should be given awards, I have the following answer; why not?
Pushpa 2 Movie Plot
Now, with this knowledge and the appearance of Fahadh Faasil in mind, it goes without saying that I went into Pushpa 2: The Rule, that is, with expectations significantly up from last time. But for a while there—and this would comprise the first two hours of its runtime— the film was doing quite a decent job. I would even go so far as to say that I felt there was a quite marked advancement in the area of storytelling for the first few hours as compared to the previous game.
What we get to see here is Allu Arjun and Fahadh Faasil at their silliest best, employing every limb in their body to extract seriousness and comedy from a situation.
I even found pleasure in how Sukumar, in these initial parts, provided ample time for the sombre sequences not to turn comical, while adding the humour only where required. I also laughed at how a certain character and his body language in this movie reminded me of Allu Arjun in some ways a certain Mohanlal of the 80s and early 90s Malayalam movies in most of his gangster roles .
I was dwelling on movies, namely Spadikam and Rajavinte Makan. And since both Pushpa movies are indeed involving in a reasonable amount of power dynamics and political machinations, there were two scenes that made me think of the Godfather films, such as a politician that Pushpa funds and who doesn’t want to be in a picture with Pushparaj.
It was perhaps here that Sukumar and his team went wrong when planning for the last hour of the movie, especially the last ten minutes of the movie. Here it seems like the filmmakers don’t know what to do anymore and the energy with which the film started runs out and it plunges into an awful nosedive that effectively negates all the fine work done so far.
It becomes so exasperating and even when we suspend disbelief and all that — just does become so unrealistic that even I, and the two people sitting beside me, began to fidget and groan and make all the other appropriate noises of an irritated state of mind.
Sitting through the entire third act was like going to a hotel and being sold on the bait of a hot water bath, only to be denied, made to turn on the cold pipe and to also have the pipe shut off as soon as you were lathered up. I wanted the true energy and times of the weird sounding songs transitions turned into creating even more out of the box and unique settings for the characters instead of appealing to definitely only the oldest of cliches.
One of the pleasures of the viewer is following the experiences of Pushparaj’s character, who does not recognize social fantasies. He’s just a nice change from the hero character who rides on his high horse and considers himself to be helping everyone by forcing his opinion down their throat. Taking a cue from the previous point, pushpa is a product of the corrupt world, a virus whoever existence brings out the fact it can evolve and outgrow the system.
He’s not above corruption and not above peeing in a pool, definitely not above those behaviours. Why, then, does he have to follow strict standards of any hero and have such an outlook at present? “Drowns the girl in a vat of abusive men.” “Buys a surname for loose change since that means something.” Never mind that Srivalli has already given a power packed emotional speech that would not be required at all.
However, there are flaws in it, make no mistake, but Pushpa 2 is a film I caaaan probably recommend. It is conspicuous with wild energy and crowded with fantastic dialogues (“What is more nightmarish than the truth?”) Peculiar poetic balance in its structuring. Shekhawat and Pushpa are not just two people with big egos clashing, it is a battle of the differences.
He is authoritarian in his ego, and Pushpa’s owes to her professional entitlement for equal rights. The last twenty minutes or so, which again did not get me as the first, has quite intriguingly intersperses wedding with the funeral, life with the death, revelry with mourning, light with the darkness, denoting life’s cyclic process where one prepares for the other.
Were it not for the fact that the film runs for more than two-and-a-quarter-hours, it never feels like it—until the closing stages. The Japan part at first seems forced, and though women dominate the story, it is a pity that they are rather victims or walking auxiliaries.
Pushpa 2, just like the first, has no nuance
But a pity, a movie with such potential has to resort to the irritating cliché of Pushparaj rescuing damsels in distress. This idea was present in the first movie but in its sequel it becomes explicit. Notably, while there’s a larger story motivation for the final rescue, the narrative repeatedly subjects women in Pushpa’s world to sexual violence (with the film itself sexualising Srivalli every chance it gets). This seems a bit of an omission and/or misstep of the film being otherwise written very perceptively : the portrayal of women is not nuanced at all.
Unfortunately, this film is top lined by Rashmika Mandanna, who doesn’t get much to do in the entire film. Overwhelmingly, the film is unnecessarily tangential and rambly, and even when you disregard all logic, Pushpa and his milieu always feel kept on a leash.
Now, Rashmika Mandanna stays limited to the bench again in the second half of the movie, and whereas Fasil gets a little more of screentime here, his character merely marches along the predictable path.
Also, this world is highly male-centric; there are virtually no women anywhere around here either.
Another it also Gets, sometimes it seems to go round and round in circles after a while.
Pushpa doesn’t walk, he strolls; he doesn’t talk, he orates; he doesn’t just introduce himself, he mimes to do so.
Though, such an element may be required in mounting a masala film, these get repetitive here to extreme level.
A few blessings do arrive in the shape of the fight scenes that is left between him and his brother Mohan played by Ajay.
This has no twists or surprise at all. There are too many sub-threads, all at the same level, and all the conflicts are left unresolved.
For me an interval came at the right time — I was already tired, and at that stage the film had only introduced the main idea of the conflict.
Pushpa’s arc is predictable to a T and while Arjun Reddy shines in the titular role and makes the character seem real for most parts of the film there isn’t much the actor can do to salvage an otherwise volatile script.
Overall a decent and engaging watch. Was not bored for the atleast the first half of the runtime. AA-Kuba gave their all and it’s evident in every frame. If by the current commercial movie standards the movie is a blockbuster if it has atleast 3-4 standout scenes, Pushpa 2 is an easy win.
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