Title: Pushpa 2: The Rule

Director: B. Sukumar

Cast: Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna, Fahadh Faasil, Jagapathi Babu, Dhananjaya, Rao Ramesh, Sunil, Anasuya Bharadwaj and others.

Where: In Theatres

Rating: 3.5 stars

Brace yourselves for a cinematic juggernaut where gravity isn’t just defied but utterly dismissed, and the ego is not merely bruised but gloriously worshipped. This film is the sequel to the 2021 blockbuster Pushpa: The Rise. It returns with a vengeance, promising not just a continuation of the saga but a leap into the stratosphere of South Indian mass cinema, where subtlety is but a quaint myth.

The film picks up where its predecessor left off—Pushpa Raj, essayed by the ever-charismatic Allu Arjun, has traded his local smuggling operations for an international playground. From the dense red sandalwood forests of Chittoor to global domination, Pushpa’s rise is nothing short of folklore-worthy. His awkward gait and signature hand gesture are back, more flamboyant than ever, as he bulldozes adversaries, systems, and, occasionally, logic itself.

Director Sukumar pulls out all the stops in delivering a spectacle that unapologetically caters to its target audience. The narrative blends action, drama, romance, and humour with the finesse of a curry where every spice screams for attention. The plot is delightfully absurd—Pushpa overthrows a Chief Minister because his wife Srivalli (Rashmika Mandanna) desires a photograph with the politician, halts an entire town to rescue his kidnapped niece, and schools a megalomaniacal IPS officer Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat (Fahadh Faasil) with gravity-defying stunts. Pushpa doesn’t merely fight; he performs physics-defying acrobatics with limbs tied and eyes obstructed, ensuring every punch lands as a metaphorical roar.

The dialogues are the kind that demand whistles and hoots, with lines like “Pushpa ka faisla mandir ka prasad jaisa hai…” or “Mai jhukhunga nahin sala,” ensuring they’ll echo in college canteens for years. Yet beneath the bombast lies a surprisingly resonant emotional arc. Pushpa’s journey is fuelled by a childhood scar—a bruised ego that morphs into his raison d’être. It’s this vulnerable core, exaggerated to a cinematic extreme, that holds the audience captive through the 200-minute marathon.

Performances are gloriously over the top, with Allu Arjun reigning supreme. His Pushpa is magnetic, maddening, and everything a mass hero is meant to be. Fahadh Faasil matches him beat for beat as his nemesis Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat, and their clash is a testosterone-charged spectacle. Rashmika Mandanna as Srivalli lends charm, though she often feels relegated to the sidelines, while the ensemble cast gamely contributes to the chaos.

Technically, the film is a marvel. Devi Sri Prasad’s music is a pulse-pounding delight, elevating every dramatic confrontation and choreographed brawl. Mirosław Kuba Brożek’s cinematography captures the glitz of Pushpa’s world with vivid, larger-than-life visuals. The VFX oscillates between dazzling and cartoonish, but it’s all in service of the spectacle.

For all its flaws—pacing that sags under its gargantuan runtime, a narrative that occasionally trades logic for lunacy, and a penchant for excess—it’s impossible to ignore the sheer magnetism of Pushpa 2. It’s indulgent, ridiculous, and thoroughly entertaining. The film concludes with a clear promise of more chapters to follow, and why not? In Pushpa’s world, the rise never ends—it merely finds new heights to conquer.

Several Bollywood celebrities arrived at the oath taking ceremony of Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai on Thursday (December 5). The function is taking place at Azad Maidan in South Mumbai. Superstars Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Kan were the first ones to arrive at the venue.

In one of the videos, Salman is seen greeting Shah Rukh and other celebs before the ceremony began. They also shared a warm hug.

One of the videos shows Shah Rukh sitting with Managing Director of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani and his son Anant Ambani.

Celebs at oath-taking ceremony

Other Bollywood celebrities who are present at the swearing in ceremony of Devendra Fadnavis are Sanjay Dutt, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit Nene and Arjun Kapoor.

Popular faces of Indian television like Shailesh Lodha and Maniesh Paul also attended the ceremony.

Despite Salman’s elaborate security, his safety was compromised on December 4, Wednesday, after a man entered the venue in Matunga, Mumbai, where the actor was shooting for his upcoming project and threatened his team using jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s name.

“Bishnoi ko bheju kya?” the man threatened, sending the actor’s security team into a tizzy.

While Salman has not explicitly addressed the constant threats to his life from the Bishnoi gang yet, he was spotted at the oath-taking ceremony of Fadnavis.

Devendra Fadnavis will be sworn-in as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra at a grand ceremony to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other dignitaries.

Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde are expected to take oath as Deputy Chief Ministers.

Ahead of the oath-taking ceremony, Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Devendra Fadnavis, remarked, “It is a beautiful day as Devendra ji becomes an MLA for the sixth time and takes on the Chief Minister’s role for the third time. We are happy, but the sense of responsibility is even greater.”

The Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 resulted in a decisive victory for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, securing a landslide win with 235 seats. This marked a significant milestone for the BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats.

Punjabi singer Karan Aujla, the voice behind Vicky Kaushal’s hit track Tauba Tauba from Bad Newz, is gearing up to launch his India tour, It Was All A Dream Tour, starting in Chandigarh on December 7. Ahead of the show, a complaint has been filed against him by professor Panditrao Dharnevar, alleging that Karan’s music promotes harmful content, including the glorification of alcohol, drugs, and violence.

the professor has requested Karan o refrain from performing tracks like Chitta Kurta, Few Days, Adhia, Bandook, Alcohol 2, and Gangsta during his concer. He stated that these songs could have a negative impact on listeners.

Panditrao Dharnevar has also warned that he will file a defamation lawsuit against the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and the Director General of Police (DGP) of Chandigarh if Aujla performs these songs at his concert. He said that they would be held accountable for allowing the concert to take place.

Karan Aujla is yet to react to the complaint.

Earlier, Diljit Dosanjh, who is currently on his Dil-Luminate Tour, was served a notice by the Telangana government and prohibited from performing songs that referenced alcohol.

The singer, however, tweaked his songs ‘5 tara theke’ to ‘5 tara hotel’, and ‘daaru ‘ch lemonade’ to ‘Coke ‘ch lemonade, but took a dig at the situation, stating that he would stop singing alcohol-themed songs if all the ‘thekas’ (liquor shops) in the country were shut down.

Further, taking a jibe at fellow artists, particularly Bollywood actors who endorse alcohol brands, Dosanjh remarked, “Let’s start a movement—if all states ban liquor consumption completely, I will never sing a song about alcohol again in my entire life. Is this possible?”