Icon Star Allu Arjun and director Sukumar’s much-awaited movie, Pushpa-The Rise has hit the screens today. Let’s see how it fares.
Story: Set in Seshachalam forest backdrop, the film revolves around red sandalwood mafia. Being a normal sandalwood worker, How a guy named Pushpa Raj(Allu Arjun) by overtaking existing mafia emerges as syndicate leader in the illegal business? Forms the crucial crux.
Performances: Undoubtedly, Allu Arjun is a major asset for this actioner. His rustic transformation as Pushpa Raj and dialogue delivery in Chittor dialect adds authentic flavour for the proceedings. Bunny’s hardwork and dedication in pulling off the Sandalwood smuggler character is clearly visible on the screen.His mannerisms and electrifying screen presence breathes life even into the flat and unengaging scenes.
Heroine Rashmika Mandanna is decent is her poorly designed character. Her chemistry with Allu Arjun also lacks fresh vibes. Malayalam actor Fahad Faisal’s getup is good but he is not utilized in a proper manner.
Sunil as the main villain is apt in his role. His makeover as a negative shaded Sandalwood syndicate boss is good and brings depth to the proceedings to an extent. Kannada actor Dhanunjay perfectly fitted in his role which has a limited screen presence. Host turned actress Anasuya’s character fails to create any impact.
Technicalities: Though songs wise, Devi Sri Prasad did a decent job, he fails to impress with his background score. Expect for hero introduction and a fight sequence in the second half, Devi’s background score fails to register. Sound mixing and VFX work is a big letdown for the movie.
The cinematography work by Miroslaw is top-notch as he showcased the natural forest locations in a fantastic way. Editing by Karthika Srinivas-Ruben is disappointing.
Production values for this star-studded movie are rich and so is the case with the production design.
Analysis: Sukumar directs Pushpa- The Rise. As the film is the third outing from the star actor-director duo, the expectations among the moviegoers are sky-high but the director has diluted the audience intrest with some unnecessary cliched scenes in the latter half due to which the impact fades away towards climax.
After narrated the proceedings on a decent note in the first half, Sukumar has ignored the second half by incorporating slow-paced scenes at regular intervals. Instead, he would have focused on presenting the movie with a racy screenplay and some clap-worthy moments to live up to the hype.
To summerize, Pushpa is majorly Allu Arjun’s one-man show and showcases him in a never before seen massy avatar. While his fantastic screen presence is a treat to watch on the screen, lack of gripping presentation and unengaging screenplay stand tall as the demerits.
Verdict: Bunny dominates!
Rating: 2.5/5
