PUSHPA: THE RISE – PART 01 [Hindi] is the story of a badass working in the red sandalwood smuggling industry. In the forest of Seshachalam, the smuggling of red sandalwood goes unabated. The red sandalwood is cut from here and taken illegally to Chennai from where it is shipped to China and even further to Japan. Pushpa Raj (Allu Arjun) is an illegitimate child of Muletti Venkatraman, a rich landlord in a village. The latter never accepted Pushpa and his mother, Parvati Devi. After his death, his biological son threw the mother-son duo out of their house given by Muletti and left them to fend for themselves. Pushpa grows up doing odd jobs. He has a lot of attitude and hence, gets kicked out of a job. While waiting for his next daily wage job, he finds out that the red sandalwood business pays a lot although the risk is also way higher. He joins the industry as a woodcutter. One day, the police raids while they were busy cutting the wood. Pushpa single-handedly hides the precious red sandalwood from them and doesn’t even open his mouth even though the cops beat him black and blue. Konda Reddy (Ajay Ghosh) runs the smuggling business and Pushpa Raj is their labourer. When he finds out about Pushpa’s bravery, he sends his younger brothers, Jolly Reddy (Dhananjay) and Jakka Reddy, to get his bail done. Pushpa demands Rs. 5 lakhs to reveal the place where he hid the red sandalwood. The brothers agree. Soon, he becomes an important member in Konda Reddy’s gang as he tells them innovative ways of transporting the red sandalwood while avoiding the prying eyes of the police. On the other hand, Pushpa falls for Srivalli (Rashmika Mandanna), who runs a milk business. Meanwhile, Konda Reddy sells the red sandalwood to Mangalam Srinu (Sunil). Srinu is the one who gets the consignment safely to Chennai. Pushpa learns that Srinu earns as much as Rs. 2 crore for every ton of red sandalwood that he sells to Murugan at Chennai port. Srinu, however, pays just Rs. 25 lakhs per ton to Konda Reddy. Pushpa suggests to Konda Reddy that Srinu should insist that he should be paid more. Konda Reddy is apprehensive as he feels it’ll strain his relations with Srinu. Also, Srinu can be quite a menace. Hence, he sends Pushpa to talk to Srinu. At Srinu’s place, all goes wrong and it signals the beginning of a long bloodbath between the two gangs. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Sukumar's story is a case of old wine in a new bottle. The idea of a man who rises from nothing and turns into a crime lord has been beaten to death in many films. Sukumar, however, adds his touch and introduces certain powerful characters to keep the interest going. Sukumar's screenplay is topnotch. He has infused excellent entertaining and thrilling moments and ensures that viewers get their money’s worth. He compensates for the clichéd storyline with the jungle and red sandalwood smuggling setting. This factor helps the film to stand out as something of this sort has rarely been seen in our films. Rajendra Sapre’s Hindi dialogues are terrific and add to the fun quotient. Special mention should also go to dubbing director Abul Hasan Ansari as the dub has been carried out very neatly. Sukumar's direction is excellent and, as expected, very massy. The film is mounted on a grand scale and he handles the scale perfectly. He leaves no stone unturned when it comes to showing the hero worship in all its glory. Such films are expected to show their heroes in the massiest avatars and PUSHPA: THE RISE – PART 01 is no exception. However, in the quest to show off Allu Arjun’s bravado and the scale of the film, he doesn’t sacrifice storytelling. The film is nearly 3 hours long but keeps one engaged from start to finish. There’s a lot happening in the film and Sukumar doesn’t leave any scope for boredom. On the flipside, the film has too many characters and it becomes too much, although it probably was done as a sequel is also in the offing. The film drags at places and could have had a faster narrative. The romantic track raises laughs but overall, is not as entertaining as the other tracks. Also, the Hindi audiences are used to watching progressive cinema and some of them might have reservations with some of the scenes of Srivalli, in the first half. PUSHPA: THE RISE – PART 01 starts off by explaining in a simple manner and through animation why the red sandalwood business is much sought after. Pushpa’s entry, as expected, is heroic. The way Pushpa outsmarts DCP Govind not once but twice is quite fun. A scene that stands out here is when Pushpa throws the red sandalwood in the jungle; the way it has been executed has to be seen to be believed. The film, however, also has a strong emotional quotient and the scene where Pushpa’s step brother humiliates him and his mother on the day of his marriage arrests attention. The best scene of the first half is reserved during the intermission point. Single-screen cinemas would go in a frenzy at this point. The film drops from here but thankfully, picks up in the scene where Pushpa bashes up Jolly Reddy. This is followed by the forest and funeral sequences. These three scenes take the second half to dizzying heights. The entry of Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat (Fahadh Faasil) initially slows down the film. However, the climax is powerful and excites audiences for the sequel. Allu Arjun is in superb form. He is a big star down South but has a considerable following among Hindi speaking audiences. And with his massy avatar, he impresses one and all. His look is quite dashing, his action top-class and his comic timing is spot-on. His dubbing is done by Shreyas Talpade and it contributes to the entertainment quotient. Rashmika Mandanna gives a confident performance and this is an apt film to be introduced to the Hindi audiences before her Bollywood debut next year. Fahadh Faasil has a small but significant role. He’s known for his flawless performances and even here, he’s at his best. Ajay Ghosh is decent while Dhananjay and Sunil leave a mark. Rao Ramesh (MLA) is memorable in the funeral scene. Anasuya Bharadwaj (Daksha; Srinu's wife) is too good as the foul-mouthed wife. The actors playing Keshav (Pushpa's sidekick), Jakka Reddy, Parvati Devi, Muletti Venkatraman, Murugan and Moglis are great. Samantha Ruth Prabhu is sizzling Devi Sri Prasad's music is not of chartbuster variety, at least when it comes to the Hindi soundtrack. All songs, however, are well shot. 'Jaago Jaago Bakre' comes at a clapworthy moment. 'Srivalli' comes up suddenly but is worth a watch especially for Allu Arjun’s dance. 'Eyy Bidda Ye Mera Adda' comes next. 'Saami Saami' is okay but the sets are picturesque. 'Oo Bolega Ya Oo Oo Bolega' is forgettable. Devi Sri Prasad's background score enhances impact. Miroslaw Kuba Brozek's cinematography is breathtaking. S Rama Krishna and Monika Niggotre's production design is realistic and yet cinematic. Resul Pookutty's sound designing could have been better; in certain scenes, the dialogues are not fully audible. Ram-Laxman, Peter Hein, Dragon Prakash and Real Satish's action is one of the film’s USPs as it is imaginative, novel and mainstream. Deepali Noor's costumes are authentic. Karthika Srinivas R and Ruben's editing is appropriate but could have been a bit slicker. On the whole, PUSHPA: THE RISE – PART 01 [Hindi] is a paisa vasool entertainer and rests on Sukumar’s expert direction, action and Allu Arjun’s starry presence.Read more

With Pushpa: The Rise, Sukumar ventures into unchartered territory by making a rustic masala film filled with punch dialogues, characters that speak in a Chittoor dialect and a story that’s rooted deep in the region it’s set in. And seeing as how expectations were sky-high after Rangasthalam, what he delivers turns out to be a mixed bag that's over-long, falters at times and delivers what it promises at others. Pushpa Raj (Allu Arjun) is one of the many coolies in Seshachalam who chop down red sandalwood illegally and sell it by the kilo to powers-that-be. In a syndicate that consists of numerous players, Pushpa slowly learns to find his footing and rise in ranks till the man who would once chop down these trees becomes the one giving the orders. However, his Achilles heel is not his lady love Srivalli (Rashmika Mandanna), or the big-wigs Konda Reddy (Ajay Ghosh), Jolly Reddy (Dhananjay), Mangalam Srinu (Sunil) and his wife Dakshayani (Anasuya Baradwaj). It is the fact that his brother (Ajay) won’t let him claim his lineage, something that takes Pushpa from zero to hundred in no time and often becomes the reason for this laid-back, sarcastic, arrogant, even funny man to lose his cool. And right as he gets where he wants to be in life, in comes IPS Bhanwar Singh Shekawat (Fahadh Faasil) threatening to upend the carefully constructed order that Pushpa has put in place. Pushpa: The Rise is backed by a story that’s often explored in cinema – the rise of the underdog. So Sukumar really has nothing new to explore here. What’s new is the way he chooses to expand the story and spend time on setting up Pushpa’s character for a whole film, spanning three hours, before getting into the thick of things. And this move really might not sit well with everyone because despite all the hoopla, that is essentially what this film is. Pushpa might have made foes of numerous people, but none of them seem to even remotely be a match to his unbending nature, that is, till Shekawat comes into town. Sukumar’s film fares well when it sticks to the story at hand and focuses on the nitty gritty of red sanders smuggling, Pushpa’s contribution to smoothening things out, etc. Where the film falters is when it tries to pull off an odd romance between him and Srivalli, this doesn’t always work or even add to the larger story at hand. Sure, Pushpa gets a chance to be her knight-in-shining-armour but it seems to move the story in a direction it would’ve gone anyway. The final confrontation between Pushpa and Shekawat also doesn't have the desired effect, coming off as rushed and the latter's character seeming underwhelming. Also underwhelming are the VFX, art direction, editing and sound design in certain scenes. The team of Pushpa: The Rise did not hide the fact that they had to rush to release the film on time and it shows through the cracks. Given the run-time that seems unwarranted already, the technical glitches only make the flaws all the more glaring. Where Pushpa: The Rise shines is when it comes to the casting, direction, cinematography, costumes and music for the most part. Sure, the BGM by Devi Sri Prasad might seem underwhelming at times, but his music more than makes up for it because it blends well into the story. Cinematographer Miros?aw Kuba Bro?ek and director Sukumar seem to have found the perfect groove for this film, complementing each other with their work. Pushpa's character's costumes see a change depending on his standing in this world. The supporting cast also gets a chance to shine, despite sometimes being pigeon-holed into playing characters that are nothing more than cookie-cutter. Rashmika also seems misplaced in a film that’s high on testosterone. Anasuya on the other hand gets a scene with Sunil that proves she’s a fit in this world. Samantha's cameo in Oo Antava Oo Oo Antava elicits whistles, to no one's surprise. With all said and done, Pushpa: The Rise is Allu Arjun’s show all the way. He shines in playing this rustic character that is hard on the surface but vulnerable in ways that others don’t see. Allu Arjun’s fans might be happy to see him shaking a leg briefly in numbers like Saami Saami and Eyy Bidda Idhi Naa Adda but he truly shines when he’s in a tussle for power, with Peter Hein, Ram-Laxman choreographing some stunning action sequences or when he’s brushing off being called coolie oda constantly because he knows he’s too good for whatever others stereotype him as. He also gets a chance to show off his acting chops, apart from the dialect he worked hard on, when he shoulders a film as massive as this one, sometimes he even makes you laugh. Sukumar’s Pushpa: The Rise shows promise when it wraps things up and sets up things for Pushpa 2. Despite the film being a mixed bag, it does make you curious for what’s to come.Read more