Review: Pushpa 2
In all, Pushpa 2 The Rule is not just fire, but wild fire. It is a monstrous three hour and 20 minute long film. But there is not a single minute of boredom in the film. That speaks volumes about the kind of film Pushpa 2 is.
Film: Pushpa 2 – The Rule
Cast: Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna, Fahadh Faasil, Dhanunjaya, Rao Ramesh, Sunil, Anasuya Bharadwaj and others.
Story- Screenplay-Direction: Sukumar Bandreddi
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Cinematographer: Miresłow Kuba Brożek
VFX Supervisor : Kamal Kannan
Editor : Navin Nooli
Rating: 3.5 stars
Director Sukumar comes up with a very engaging and entertaining sequel to his film Pushpa. And as the lead character in the film describes itself, the film is not just fire, it is wildfire!
Sukumar certainly packs a punch in the second part of Pushpa, aptly titled Pushpa – The Rule. It is so good that in my book it manages to outperform the first part.
Like all other Sukumar films, the strength of this one too lies in its writing. Every character is well fleshed out and every character’s arc is perfect. The developments are dynamic but at the same time organic. Except for a couple of fight sequences, all other developments appear natural.
For a film to work, the conflict between the characters of the hero and the villain must be considerably intense. And for that, the reasons for the conflict too must be reasonable. Sukumar seems to have realised this fact and has carefully come up with a number of powerful characters — each of which acts as the prime villain for upto a specific point in the film.
The intense conflicts that the protagonist has with these tough, powerful characters and how he manages to overcome the challenges posed by them make Pushpa a very entertaining affair.
For instance, there is a Chief Minister who behaves in a condescending way towards Pushpa (Allu Arjun) and therefore becomes his rival. By the time Pushpa settles scores with him, his old sworn enemy, Bhairon Singh (Fahadh Faasil) returns to take revenge. Just when he is done with Bhairon, a union minister, played by Jagapathi Babu, becomes Pushpa’s arch rival.
Pushpa’s conflicts with each of these characters is highly engaging.
Performances:
Allu Arjun as Pushpa delivers a mind-blowing performance that is worthy of yet another National Award. Be it throwing a challenge at his opponents and eventually winning them, romancing his wife or dancing in devotion, Allu Arjun comes up with a powerful performance. So commanding is his performance that it makes even outstanding performances by his co-artistes Rashmika Mandanna, Sree Leela, Sunil, Fahadh Faasil, Jagapathy Babu and Rao Ramesh seem pretty ordinary in comparison.
Rashmika Mandanna plays Srivalli, a character that has several shades to it, with complete confidence. Her faith in her acting skills plays a big part in making Pushpa 2 what it is.
Rao Ramesh and Jagapathi Babu have more screen space than the other antagonist characters and they fully make use of the space provided to them to entertain.
Devi Sri Prasad’s music, although a little loud and brash, suits the film’s mood to a T. Mention must also be made of cinematographer Mirosław Kuba Brożek’s amazing cinematography and Naveen Nooli’s smart editing.
In all, Pushpa 2 The Rule is not just fire, but wild fire. It is a monstrous three hour and 20 minute long film. But there is not a single minute of boredom in the film. That speaks volumes about the kind of film Pushpa 2 is. It sure burns its way into your hearts and leaves you craving for more. Not to worry though! A third part of the film is now on the cards!
