Pushpa 2: The Rule

<p>A consignment of arrives at the in Japan, where workers are shocked to find Pushpa hidden inside one of the containers. He attacks them, demanding payment for the load but is shot and falls into the sea, triggering a flashback. After humiliating Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat, Pushpa rises to power as a respected smuggler, while Shekhawat goes into hiding. Shekhawat secretly masquerades as a laborer and intercepts a massive sandalwood consignment. Meanwhile, Pushpa meets the Narasimha Reddy, but is denied a photograph with him to avoid political backlash. Offended, Pushpa vows to topple the government by making Siddappa the Chief Minister, raising ₹500 crores through sandalwood smuggling.<br /> Pushpa strikes a deal with Central Minister Kogatam Veera Pratap Reddy and meets international buyer Hameed in to sell 2,000 tons of sandalwood for ₹5,000 crores. Several smugglers join Pushpa’s syndicate, but Mangalam Srinu and Dakshayani, along with Shekhawat, plot to sabotage the operation. Shekhawat kills one of the syndicate members, causing fear among the others, who urge Pushpa to relinquish his leadership to Srinu. Siddappa later, tries to finish the rivalry between Pushpa and Shekhawat and asks Pushpa to say sorry to Shekhawat at a meeting. However, Pushpa again brutally disrespects Shekhawat for being a corrupted cop, later Shekhawat swears to catch all the consignment of red sandalwood. Pushpa, however, manages to use his tricks and ways to smuggle the sandalwood to until its final destination in . During the transport, Shekhawat catches up and shoots down all the trucks, forcing the drivers to escape. The media lauds Shekhawat for the raid, but Srinu realizes the load was not sandalwood but Sandra, a wood that resembles red sandalwood but holds no market value. Pushpa had instead created bullock carts with the actual load and transported it to Chennai, indirectly aided by Shekhawat himself. Shekhawat asks Srinu to get 1 tonne of original red sandalwood to fool the Examination committee and works on to trace Pushpa’s original consignment. In the news, it is shown that the consignment caught was real sandalwood, causing fear amongst the syndicate members. Later, they hold a meeting where everyone questions Pushpa about the whereabouts of the original consignment. Pushpa ensures that it is safe and tells the location of the load only to Jakka Reddy. Meanwhile, Srivalli discovers she is pregnant, and Pushpa celebrates. However, tragedy strikes when his niece, Kaveri, is assaulted during the Jathara festival by Bugga Reddy and his gang. Pushpa beats them up, humiliates them, and sents them back. Shekhawat eventually obtains permission and manages to track the consignment to as he had spied on Jakka Reddy but fails to capture it before it crosses the Indian-Sri Lankan border. However, Hameed’s gang is caught by the police and while fleeing, Hameed’s car , in which Jakka Reddy is killed and Hameed is gravely injured. Shekhawat gets to know from him that the sandalwood was going to Japan and Pushpa was going to get the money through . Hameed was the only one who knew the name of the Japanese broker, who would ensure the money would be delivered to Pushpa, but before telling him the name of the broker, he is killed by Shekhawat. Shekhawat then eventually breaks the connection between Pushpa, the original consignment, and . To obtain the money for the consignment, Pushpa prepares to travel to Japan by stowing away in a ship container, whereupon reaching the Yokohama Port, he fights the , bringing the story back to the beginning of the film. As Pushpa is shot and falls in the sea, he emerges back, and proves to the Japanese boss, Hiroshi, that he is the owner of the sandalwood consignment. Eventually, Hiroshi delivers the money to Pushpa and asks him to deal with him directly in the future, thus removing all the brokers and enhancing the partnership between India and Japan. Pushpa uses the money to make Siddappa the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, as promised. He then goes to Jaali Reddy’s house to mourn the death of Jakka Reddy. Pushpa tries to negotiate with Jaali, however, the latter ignores him and continues their rivalry. Shekhawat becomes furious as he was going to get exposed for catching fake sandalwood and while burning the storage site, he seemingly kills himself in the blaze. As Pushpa, Siddappa, and his gang celebrate, tragedy strikes again as Kaveri is kidnapped and assaulted by Bugga Reddy, who wanted revenge for his humiliation at the Jathara festival. Later, it is revealed that Bugga Reddy is the nephew of Minister Veera Pratap Reddy, who tries to negotiate with Pushpa to leave Bugga alone. However, a furious Pushpa manages to rescue Kaveri and brutally kills Bugga and his gang, along with Subba Reddy, Bugga’s father and Pratap Reddy’s younger brother. At their funeral, Pratap Reddy along with Srinu, Dakshayani, Jaali Reddy, Murugan, and the others swear revenge against Pushpa. Pratap Reddy then asks about an important mysterious person as he was not present at the funeral. Pushpa’s elder brother, Mohan, later apologises to Pushpa and his family for all the mistreatment he caused and invites them to Kaveri’s wedding, accepting them wholly as his family. As Pushpa reconciles with his estranged family at Kaveri’s wedding, the mysterious figure detonates a bomb at the wedding. Before the release of in 2021, the film was announced to release in , with the filmmakers stating that the maiden part would release that year, whereas the latter part would release the next year. Initially, 10% of the sequel’s footage was shot back-to-back with the first part, however, Sukumar decided to alter the sequel’s story. The scripting part of the film was completed by July 2022 in . The official title, , was announced at the end of . An inaugural puja ceremony was held on the same day in with the presence of the film’s cast and crew. Sukumar wrote the film’s script while Srikanth Vissa wrote the dialogues. Sukumar further retained most of the technicians from previous including cinematographer , editor and , art director S. Ramakrishna and Monica Nigotre and sound designer and Vijay Kumar. and served as costume designers while Preetisheel Singh was hired as character designer. Peter Hein, Kecha Khamphakdee, Dragon Prakash and Nabakanta were hired as stunt directors. Dance choreographers of the film includes , , , Vijay Polaki and Shrashti Verma. , , , , , , , and other remaining actors from first part have reprised their respective roles, was roped in for a pivotal role in April 2023. rejoined the cast in February 2024, after he was given bail in suicide abetment case. , Tarak Ponnappa, and were also reported to be the part of the film. , , , and , were considered for the . However, was later finalised. began with a test shoot on 30 October 2022 in . In January 2023, filming took place in . In March 2023, scenes were shot in . Rumours were circulated that the shooting of the film was stopped as director was unsatisfied but later turned out to be false as shooting was again started after a few days. In April 2023, forest scenes were shot in district of . Jagapathi Babu joined cast in April 2023. Fahadh Faasil joined the sets in May 2023 while Rashmika joined the sets in June 2023. On 3 June 2023, the bus carrying crew members met with an accident near the . In July 2023, an action sequence was shot in including 50 stuntmen. In August 2023, scenes were shot in . In November 2023, the filming resumed in Hyderabad. In December 2023, the filming was postponed due to Allu Arjun’s health. In March 2024, scenes were shot in Vizag and . It was later reported that the makers spent 50–60 crore for the performance and a fight sequence. In April 2024, an underwater sequence was shot in Hyderabad. In May 2024, it was reported that the film will have multiple endings and to maintain secrecy the makers opted the no phone policy on the film set. In July 2024, it was reported that shooting of film was delayed due to rift and creative differences between Allu Arjun and Sukumar, however they were later proven to be false rumours as shooting was restarted again in Hyderabad. Sets depicting 1990s and 2000s and were recreated at Ramoji Film City, though plans were to , recces at , Malaysia, and Japan determined that budget and time constraints would not allow it. In August 2024, the climax of the film was shot. Item number featuring Sreeleela was filmed in November 2024 in Hyderabad. The entire filming was wrapped by late November 2024. The VFX of the film were provided by ; R.C. Kamalakannan served as the . and Vijay Kumar served as the . and dubbed for Allu Arjun in the dubbed Hindi and Malayalam versions, respectively. In May 2024, both Ruben and Karthika Srinivas opted out of the film due to scheduling conflicts and creative differences, resulting in them being replaced by ; Sukumar’s earlier collaborator. The first half of the film was edited by October 2024. Rashmika completed dubbing for her portions by November 2024. The final copy of the film was ready by late November 2024 and was submitted to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) that month. On 28 November 2024, the film received a from the , with a finalised runtime of 200 minutes after few words and excessive violent scenes were censored. The background score and soundtrack of the film were composed by , with lyrics written by . The film also features additional background score composed by confirmed that he had also composed additional background music, but the makers ultimately chose to use the final outputs by Prasad and Sam C. S. The music rights of the film were acquired by for ₹65 crore. The first single titled “Pushpa Pushpa” was released on 1 May 2024. The second single titled “Sooseki (The Couple Song)” was released on 29 May 2024. The third single titled ” ” was released on 24 November 2024. The fourth single titled ” ” was released on 1 December 2024. The fifth single titled “Gango Renuka Thalli” was released on 5 December 2024 along with the album. The first-look poster along with an announcement glimpse video was released on 8 April 2023, coinciding with Allu Arjun’s 41st birthday. The teaser of the film was released a year later on 8 April 2024, coinciding with Arjun’s 42nd birthday. A press meet was held on 24 October 2024 in Hyderabad where the new release date of the film was revealed. Promotional activities were scheduled in , , , , , and . The film’s trailer was released on 17 November 2024 at an event in , . On 24 November 2024, a pre-release event was held in Leo Muthu Indoor Stadium, in . On 27 November 2024, pre-release event was held at Liwa Hall, Grand Hyatt in . A press-meet was held on 29 November 2024 in JW Marriott Sahar in . On 2 December 2024, pre-release event was held in Police Grounds, in Hyderabad. Later, special press conferences were held on 7 December 2024 in Hyderabad and 12 December 2024 in . On 9 February 2025, a success meet was held in Hyderabad. was theatrically released on 5 December 2024 in standard, , , and ICE formats. Apart from the original language, it was released in the , , , and languages. A version of the film was initially scheduled to be released on the same day, however, the shows were postponed to 13 December 2024. Initially, the film was announced by the makers to release on 15 August 2024, coinciding with India’s . However, due to unfinished shooting and post-production work, it was postponed to 6 December 2024, before being changed to 5 December. It was slated to be the first Pan-Indian film to release in the Bengali language. However, the Bengali dubbed version was not theatrically released. The film was reported to release in more than 12,000 screens worldwide. In India, the film was released in over 6,500 screens out of which 4,500 screens were allocated for the Hindi version (biggest release for a dubbed film). In the overseas market it was released in more than 5,000 screens. A reloaded version of the film containing additional 20 minutes of footage was set to release on 11 January 2024. However it was postponed to 17 January 2025 due to technical issues. The distribution rights were acquired by Anil Thadani’s for ₹200 crore. The distribution rights for were acquired by Prathyangira Cinemas and AA Creations. The and distribution rights were acquired by E4 Entertainment and N Cinemas respectively. acquired the distribution rights. Forum Films distributed the film in and while AA Films UK Ltd. distributed across and Friday Entertainment distributed in . The ticket price hikes were estimated to be around ₹354 in single screen theatres and ₹531 in multiplexes across Telangana, and ₹324.5 in single screen theatres and ₹413 in multiplexes across Andhra Pradesh. The price for special premiere shows on 4 December was hiked by ₹800 across Telangana. The film set a record of doing the highest pre-release business in India, with combined theatrical and non-theatrical earnings of ₹1085 crores. Prior to its release, the film made a business of nearly (US$76 million) from its theatrical rights. The Andhra Pradesh and Telangana distribution rights were sold for (US$26 million). The Hindi dubbed distribution rights were sold for (US$24 million). The film made a combined deal of (US$12 million) from distribution in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and theatres. The overseas distribution rights were sold for (US$17 million). It further made (US$50 million) from non-theatrical rights, including digital, satellite and music rights. The film started its advance booking on 30 November 2024. The film minted record advance booking sales grossing ₹100 crores worldwide and selling around 2 million tickets in its pre-bookings alone. The film also set the record for being the fastest movie to sell 1 million tickets on BookMyShow surpassing , , and . The digital streaming television rights of the film were acquired by for ₹275 crore. The film’s version, which included over 20 minutes of additional footage, began streaming on Netflix from 30 January 2025 in Telugu and dubbed versions of Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada languages. Later, English and Bengali dubbed version was also released on the platform. The satellite television rights of the film were acquired by . The film was premiered on on 13 April 2025. The dubbed versions of Malayalam and Kannada languages were also premiered on the same day on and respectively. The Tamil dubbed version was premiered on on 14 April 2025. The Hindi dubbed version was premiered on on 31 May 2025. Nishad Thaivalappil of gave 5/5 stars and wrote ” is a raw, wild, and action-packed extravaganza. With its gripping narrative, larger-than-life performances, and massy appeal, it’s the entertainer of the year. Don’t miss the chance to witness Allu Arjun’s brilliance on the big screen!” of gave 4.5/5 stars and wrote “A wildfire entertainer with mass appeal, blending intense action, gripping drama, emotional depth and Allu Arjun’s unmatched swag which elevates the film, making it a must-watch for fans and audiences alike”. Simran Singh of gave 4.5/5 stars and wrote ” will RULE the box office. The sky is the limit for this film. Allu Arjun and the team have set new standards in massy entertainers, and very high expectations for the third part. Yes, the saga of will continue. Don’t miss at any chance.” Ganesh Aaglave of gave 4/5 stars and wrote “On the whole, is bigger, grander and better as Allu Arjun is set to rule the box office with its swag.” Neeshita Nyayapati of wrote “At the end of it all, is entertaining, makes you chuckle and also feel something for its titular character, even if not flawless and has a shallow message about women’s safety. And when you don’t notice a runtime as long as this one, that’s a win”. Paul Nicodemus of gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote ” is a sequel that surpasses its predecessor in scale, storytelling, and emotional depth. Sukumar’s vision, combined with Allu Arjun’s powerhouse performance, layered narrative, breathtaking visuals, and stellar ensemble cast, makes it a cinematic triumph that demands to be experienced on the big screen.” Rishil Jogani of gave 3/5 stars and wrote ” is a quintessential mass entertainer that will surely satisfy fans of the franchise. It delivers on the action, drama, and charisma that made the first part so much loved. Yes, the film struggles with pacing, convenience in its screenplay, and the lack of strong antagonists to keep the narrative thrilling.” Anandu Suresh of gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote “The simplest and shortest review of would be: “Sarvam Pushpa Mayam. ( )”” Janani K of rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote “Compared to the first part, Pushpa 2 feels somewhat disjointed. The sequel focuses more on creating moments rather than building a coherent story”. Pranati A S of rated 2.5/5 and wrote, “Fahadh steals the show with his restlessness and humour. Devi Sri Prasad’s music is nothing exceptional. MirosÅ‚aw Kuba Brożek’s cinematography is brilliant, these are some takeaways from the otherwise excessively overblaring film.” Sajin Shrijith of gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote “A massive insult to intelligence and peelings”. Saibal Chatterjee of rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and stated “Pushpa Part 2 goes hell for leather but large parts of the film are crushed under the weight of its own vaulting ambition”. Arjun Menon of rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote “Pushpa 2 is a badly misjudged, doubtful sequel that can’t capitalise on the wealth of the story world set up in the first film”. Sanyukta Thakare of gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote “Pushpa 2: The Rule does not add anything new to the barrage of similar south characters, nor the action showcased by the entertainment industry”. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of wrote “A stunning ‘jatara’ sequence anchored by a superb Allu Arjun and a few face-offs, director Sukumar’s ‘ ’ seems incoherent and incomplete.” Lekha Menon of wrote “The music is loud, the editing at several places is disjointed and the action choreography basically includes characters flying in air and Pushpa beating the bad guys to pulp. All of this takes place over a mammoth 205 minutes and while it’s entertaining and pacy, the overall experience makes for a tedious watch.” Swathi P Ajith of wrote, “More than just the story, ‘Pushpa 2’ promises to be an unforgettable experience, especially for Allu Arjun’s fans. It’s clear that he has poured his heart and soul into this role, making every moment on screen tantalising.” On its opening day, the film grossed worldwide becoming the highest day-one grossing till date and the highest day-one grossing film ever in India, with from the domestic market. The Hindi version has collected a nett amount of on the opening day, in India. became the fastest to reach ₹400 crore in two days and ₹500 crore in three days. In the , the film debuted at the number five position earning on its opening day and is projected to earn in its opening weekend. As per , the four-day gross is estimated to be ₹590 crore ($70 million) in India and ₹172 crore ($20 million) from the overseas markets, making its global debut grossing ₹762 crore ($90 million). In its first weekend, it earned $4.9 million from U.S. and Canadian theaters placing at 5th position as per . On its eighth day of release, the film entered in . The film has grossed worldwide in eight days, with and from domestic and international markets. The nine-day domestic gross collection was . The ten-day domestic gross collection was . The eleven-day domestic gross collection is crore, thus, becoming the second in India to cross ₹1000 crore after (2017). The film collected a worldwide gross of in its eleven-day run, with and (US$26 million) from domestic and international markets. It continued to remain at the Global rankings in its second weekend (11 days) with a gross in the home market estimated to be ₹1014 crore ($120M) and worldwide at ₹1414 crore ($167M). As per , film collected a worldwide gross of in its thirteen-day run, with and from domestic and international markets. The domestic gross collection was , in the first two weeks (14 days), with from its home market ( and ). reported that the film has earned ₹1,290.92 crore domestically in 19 days, with a total worldwide gross of ₹1,570.92 crore, including ₹280 crore from international markets. reported that on its 20th day, the film’s net earnings in India alone grossed , with crore coming from the Hindi version, making it the first film to reach the mark. As per its twenty-day worldwide gross collection stands at ₹1,456 crore. The film’s twenty-two days worldwide gross was . The film collected a domestic gross of रु 27.03 crore in , thus becoming the in the country. reported the twenty-five days gross collection is around ₹1,719.5 crore. As of 2 January 2024, the Hindi version had earned ₹769.75 crore. It reached ₹797.70 crore by its fourth week (28 days). As of 13 January 2025, the film has earned ₹1408.81 crore ($162.9 million) in India. The film concluded its theatrical run with worldwide gross estimated to be 1,871 crore. The film recorded the highest footfall post-COVID pandemic, with 6.30–6.50 crore. At the , won two awards – ( ) and ( ). On 24 November 2024, at the pre-release event in Chennai, composer blamed the producers for repeated complaints against him that he failed to deliver the and songs on time. He said that the producers have more complaints than love for him. Later at the event, producer Ravi Shankar denied the rift and mentioned that there are no issues, and that they are like a family. There were also reports that , and were hired to compose the background score due to delays in delivering the score on time by Prasad. This controversy also came into light when Mythri Movie Makers, who are also the producers of the upcoming (2025), replaced Prasad with . However, during the Hyderabad event Prasad ended the ongoing controversy with producers and thanked them wholeheartedly and highlighted the special bond between them. Later, Sam C. S. confirmed his involvement in the film’s background score. On 30 November 2024, an was filed against Allu Arjun by Srinivas Goud for his comments during the Mumbai press event, where he (Allu Arjun) referred to his fans as an “army”. Goud found this comparison disrespectful, arguing that using the term “army” in this context belittles the sacrifices made by the armed forces. In December 2024, a petition demanding a ban on the film was filed in the , as the film shows corruption, violence and illegal smuggling, however the plea was dismissed. On 4 December 2024, a woman died while her young son was critically injured in a stampede during the film’s premiere at Sandhya movie theater near , Hyderabad. A case was later filed under various sections of the on the film’s unit, Allu Arjun, his security team, and the owner of the theatre. Allu Arjun was arrested by the on 13 December 2024 over the said charges. However, a few hours later he was granted by the . The film’s showcased the continuation of the story with a and the title for the third part revealed as .</p>