Pushpa 2: The Rule officiated a few early premiere shows leading into a full-fledged release today, December 5. With a one-film old mammoth legacy to live up to, there really wasn’t any scope for director Sukumar and the man, the myth, the legend, Pushpa himself — ergo Allu Arjun, to get it wrong. That probably explains the incessant delays leading up to the final schedule and the overdriven promotional campaign in the last few weeks to really hit it home. Well, it appears so that the Pushpa legacy has in all probability been lived up to. Or at least that’s what the first flush of cine-goers are concluding.
Pushpa 2 The internet hails Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna
Comments like “This is going to be next RRR or even better than it” is all you need to read to understand how satisfied the audience is leaving theatres. Mind you, this comment comes as a huge compliment given that SS Rajamouli’s Oscar-winning Ram Charan, Jr NTR and Alia Bhatt-starrer RRR is easily India’s most accomplished cinematic export to the world when it comes to contemporary times.
Other comments lauding the film read: “PEAK INDIAN COMMERCIAL FILM”, “Great movie, no notes. Will happily rewatch it when it’s on Netflix. AA did a phenomenal job. Rashmika was great. Fafa excellent as always”, “damn did it over-deliver” and “Yup. It’s a smash hit. This is going to take over the country. Proper Indian mass masala”.
Allu Arjun is of course the man of the hour. Comments lauding his commitment to the character read: ” All I can say is Fafa cooked. AA cooked. DSP cooked. Suku is in the process of cooking”, “Damn I have seen clips of that jathara one, mad respect for Arjun” and “guys this is a phenomenon and sukku’s a master chef. AA is going to have all-time industry records”.
How much of a factor word of mouth will play in the future run of business for the film seems irrelevant, given Allu Arjun’s superstardom and Rashmika’s girl-next-door fueled endless well of favor with the audience. So what is left to see, is if actual cinematic excellence has been achieved to parallel everything the first film accomplished, including a National Award for Allu Arjun. How much bang for buck Pushpa 2 will deliver for the audience, will be transparent with its box office run, which based on the current reactions, may just run into months. As per an Outlook business report, domestic and overseas ticket sales for day 1 alone, have clocked in at ₹125 crores. Add to this the theatrical rights which have reportedly sold at ₹640 crores and digital rights, which have sold at ₹275 crores, and what we may be witnessing is a brand new fiscal benchmark when it comes to the business of (pan) Indian cinema.
Will you be watching Pushpa 2 in theatres?