Pushpa 2 Review – A Mixed Bag of Brilliance and Brain Rot

“Agar ladki ko kuch hua toh kaat dalunga Rapa RapAA”

Warning – this review will be full of Fire Nahi Wildfire spoilers. Avoid reading if you haven’t watched it yet. Dekh aao fir padhna, zyada maza ayega. Aur agar sirf verdict chahiye toh you can skip directly to the last paragraph. Yaad rakhna, ‘Pushpa bas naam nahi hai, Pushpa matlab Brand.’

Pushpa 2 – The Character

People are talking in extremes – mostly discussing star power, collections or calling the film garbage. But I would like to discuss Pushpa, the character. His mindset, his motives and execution which is done quite well. While he rules the syndicate, he is also a family man. His love for his wife and family is always constant. And also the guilt of not having a father/family’s name.

Because he was a mazdoor, people test and challenge him at every point. Be it ministers, local mafia, international mafia, members of the syndicate or Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat.

The film is called Pushpa 2 The Rule and it shows the rule of Pushpa very well. Notice how he takes care of his people from the first scene at the police station. This is one reason why people are always in support of him and is shown throughout. Pushpa does not do anything extreme unless he is triggered. And once he is triggered, what he does is beyond anyone’s imagination. His ego drives his actions and in turn the narration throughout. I call this consistency and sticking to character.

Character Development

While I have no complaints from Pushpa’s character, the other characters are not developed well. There is a shear lack of a good villain in the film, which was done well in part one. Pushpa has challenges but nobody comes close to defeating him. Is he undefeatable? More discussion in upcoming section.

Actors and Characters

Pushpa – Bloody Brilliant. Allu Arjun nails the character yet again. He is able to portray the various emotional sides of Pushpa so well. Be it weak moments or the ones with swag and mass appeal, you can see what the character is feeling. The Jaathara sequence was ingenious. A powerful combination of creativity, vision and performance.

Srivalli – She is not just an eye candy but helps in the narration as well. Her character has been given more time and meaning in the plot. Rashmika Mandanna stands out in one scene defending her husband, but apart from that, none other scene allow her do much.

Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat – I liked his character from the start. He is mean, he is intelligent and he is goofy. So we get to see a lot of shades, serious, powerful and funny, from the same character. I love Fahadh Faasil, he such a fine actor. Though he was a formidable opponent, the character is sidelined towards the end.

Special Mention – Shreyas Talpade deserves all the appreciation for his dubbing in Hindi. We have seen a lot of dubbed films where the experience gets ruined due to bad dubbing or wrong casting. But Shreyas delivers. His voice goes with all the emotions of Pushpa.

Is Pushpa Undefeatable?

We get that he is our hero and we want him to win. But there should be points in the plot where is low, is fearful, he is weak and he loses, then rises again. He is able to fight tens trained Japanese goons. He is able to fight even when his hands and legs are tied. He can buy anyone and anything he likes. He can change governments, he can kill anyone and he is always one step ahead of Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat. The only time he dips is when he is insulted because of his name by his brother. One tone heroism is not what we want in 2024.

Writing and Direction

I noticed that the individual scenes work perfectly. Each scene is done well. But as a writer, director and editor, the job is also to look at the overall flow, check if the stitching on the scenes make sense or not. This is where screenplay and editing and call of a director come into play.

Interval point was the highlight for me. From Pushpa saying sorry to Pushpa challenging Shekhawat, the entire sequence was top notch. Makes you realize that you don’t always need an action scene for an interval block.

The change of CM, deal of 2000 tonnes of red sandalwood, Jathara sequence, family feud, tussle with Shekhawat, dealing with the Syndicate; if you break it down you can see there are lot of good plot points in the film. Combine with all the other aspects I’ve mentioned in above sections. We know that there is effort is writing. Still it feels weak because the problem is the flow. Compare this with Animal (only due to similar length) and you will see the difference. While all the ingredients are nice, the final dish is still not delicious. Who do you blame? The chef, right?

Ridiculous Action

This is one big problem down south. It is in north as well, but people call it out and bash it. Whereas in south, people don’t complain. They celebrate and and even praise it in the name of mass. Bhai mass sabko pasand ata hai, Hollywood mein bhi mass hota hai. We don’t always want physics and logic. Hum hindustani hain hum thoda sa jane dete hain agar maza aa raha ho. But that too has a limit. Aap “kuch bhi” dikhane lagoge toh gadbad hai. Ye 2024 hai, audience is desi, but a lot more evolved now.

The first Japan dock sequence, Allu Arjun lands perfectly after he was hanging upside down from the crane. Then he picks the boss and runs up the stairs faster than others. My brother said that was because he was used to carry heavy logs of red sandalwood was he was a labourer. Point taken. But then the even walks a bit tilted on the wall. What the hell was that. And how is he making such big jumps while carrying a man? Thoda zyada nahi ho gaya? Superhero strength mat dikhaya karo.

The pre-climax is the reason why everybody is ridiculing the film so much. Pushpa is flying, jumping and killing people with his hands and legs tied. I can agree that he can somehow bite the neck of a person and kill if he somehow gets into that position. but that can happen only once. He is not just killing but throwing people away just by his teeth. HIS TEETH. Bhai hath se ek 80 kilo ka aadmi utha ke fekoge toh easy nahi hone wala, ye daanth se fek de raha hai. Hadd bakwas sequence.

Ye sab karna zaruri hai? Aap thodi aur mehnat karo, thoda realistic banao, koi mazak nahi banayega ulta aur appreciate karenge.

I loved the follow-up sequence though. Once his hand and legs are free, the way he kills in rage mode is shown so well. He wears Maa Kali ki skull wali mala, and has axe and machete in both hands, I loved that avatar of Pushpa. I was thinking why could they not do this from the start? Why did they have to show him tied up? When he kills the boss and his father with the Trishul that too was massy but it did not feel ridiculous. Because they built it up to that point that we wanted them to die. Indian directors really need to understand this.

VFX

Crap! I have to call this out as this is not a small film. From budget to pre-release business, from stardom to hype, everything is huge about this film so how can the vfx be so bad. When Allu Arjun falls in water after getting hit with a bullet seems fake. Blowing up of trucks looks so bad. Wire work is visible; not the wire, the movement of the subject does not look natural, you can see at which point the wire pulls the subject. ₹300 Cr star ko de diye, 5-10Cr vfx pe dal dete.

Comedy and Callbacks

Comedy worked for me more or less. Won’t say it made me go ROLF, but it got the laughs. Best thing was that it was integrated well and felt organic rather than forced humour and punchlines out of memes.

I liked how Srivalli says, Ye pair mera hai, ye wala pair bhi mera hai, tujhe mirchi kyu lag rahi hai.” This is the dialogue that drew me towards Pushpa’s character in the first film. Pushpa naam nahi brand hai, this was shown as a symbol everywhere now. He is truly a brand now. He buys the helicopter just like he bought the van.

Bhanwar Singh still holds the grudge of getting his clothes removed. Mention of Seenu, what Pushpa did to him, how the prices changed, all these things maintain the essence of the same universe and remind you that it is a continued story. Because many sequels with continued story too stray away from the previous film a lot these days.

Music/BGM

This, I think almost everyone would have felt. The songs did not make an impact, especially in Hindi. Pushpa Pushpa was still fine, the choreography and things happening in the video showcased the character, his life, personality and relationship with others well. Peelings and Kissik were very forced and non-required. BMG was good. It enhanced a lot of scenes.

Forced Plot and Sequel

Did you notice a few scenes from the trailer were not there? Pushpa dealing with a half note in Japan, Bhanwar Singh bathing in the river while the Arre Deewano song plays. After falling in water in the initial sequence, Pushpa comes out standing on an anchor. That scene was cut. And what was this entire sequence? What point did it serve? Was it just a dream? Was it real and ever happened? How does it tie to the overall story?

The niece kidnapping sequence was overstretched. It felt like this was a two part film, and midway they decided to make a third part and hence started reshooting. Reason why the shoot went on for too long. I have reasons to believe this, hear me out.

The Japan sequence was definitely longer and they ended it abruptly. And we know he comes up standing on an anchor which is not shown. There would have been more elaborate scenes for his dealings in Japan.

Remember the ‘Where Is Pushpa’ teaser that came out in 2023? Where were those sequences? Do you really think they shot all those extra shots just for a teaser? And they never mentioned it through PR? Fees aur business ki toh news out karwa di thi.

Because of the deleted scenes I mentioned above, we can conclude that there were sequences that were chopped off, storylines were changed, and the last ported was cooked up midway to accommodate a threequel. Random new villain aa gaya end mein.

How It Could Have Been Better

By the end they made Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat a joke. He was a little comical, which I liked, but he was no fool. Suicide toh nahi dikhata main. When Pushpa crossed over to Sri Lanka, how he behaved in the boat was not done. Ultimately wo ek smart cop tha, koi side comic character nahi. First part ke end mein Pushpa upar tha aur Shekhawat ki lag gayi thi. Second ke end mein Shekhawat ko upar rakhta and Pushpa ko down.

Part 1 mein Pushpa ne Rise kiya, 2 mein Rule kiya. Lekin jaisa iska undefeated rule dikhaya, main wo nahi dikhata. I would have given Shekhawat the upper hand the first half. His rule is being challenged but he is Pushpa, he always comes back on top. By interval, I would have shown that Shekhawat plots with Srinu and his wife, in some way destroys Pushpa’s credibility, but he gains back his power by killing Srinu and his wife.

Pushpa’s rule changing from good human and business to that of fear. But we know fear is not a good motivator or ruler. It is a desperate move. Everyone feels that, including Pushpa himself. His rule, his hold over the business is shaken. The text Interval comes on screen while Shekhawat has a smile on his face.

By the end of the film, I would have left Pushpa a destroyed man. He resorted to anger, alcohol and arrogance. He became a killer more than a smart smuggler. People started fearing him rather than loving him, and subsequently more turned against him. Haan pata hai thoda cliche sound karta hai, but it’s the execution that matters. Right now you are reading but if you see the events unfold on screen, you will feel differently.

I would write that Shekhawat gets in his head, Pushpa becomes a victim of is ego and desire to be power and respected. He makes a new ally, loses his mother, hampers her relationship with Srivalli. What he does not realize is that he makes a new enemy, who will be the main villain in part 3. By the end, Pushpa has a lot of money but loses a lot of his power and goodwill. It appears that Shekhawat wins in the end, taking his revenge and this time Pushpa takes a vow to get back his respect and power. A direct flip from the climax of part one.

This is just my view. If I was doing it. You don’t have to like it or agree to it. Is is just another perspective. If you have ideas, you can mention in the comments on the Instagram post of this review. You can add details and build on my idea or share a completely new perspective.

Verdict

Overall I lied the film. I was entertained and I had a good time. I can’t speak in extremes where people are either loving of hating the film. Pushpa 2 has both good and bad elements and I’ve discussed both. If you want recommendation, then yes, you can and you should watch it in theatres. If you did not like part one, or the trailer of part two, then skip it.

OCD Rating – ⭐⭐⭐

Author: Ishan Jain

Also check out: Pushpa 2 Phone Wallpapers

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