Everything about Pushpa 2 rankles.
I am all for masala entertainers. But Pushpa 2 coming on the extremely entertaining Pushpa 1 is one long yawn. The astute movie-lover can analyse how-the-hell does a movie so dragging become a money spinner.
And therein lies the rub- the unabashed references to and about money. Like as if, money is nothing. JUST LIKE THAT.
In a scene, which should have become a pivotal incident , when Pushpa Raj enraged by the CM’s refusal to get a photo clicked with him, strategizes to make his supporter the next CM. Pushpa wants to know how much money would be needed, the supporter rather realistically (or so, one hopes) gives the modest (?) figure of a 100 crores to overthrow the incumbent. Pushpa does some calculations in his mind (or so, one hopes) and says I will give you 500 crore. JUST LIKE THAT.
Pushpa Raj bribes an entire police station out by giving them their due (his henchmen are shown calculating the salary + the hafta amounts, multiplied by years of service left! Phew – coming up with figures in lacs, which they then casually round up a couple of lacs to ’round figure’) Each of these, now ex-police force takes the piles and wads of notes in cloth parcels. Nothing odd, absolutely. JUST LIKE THAT.
Pushpa Raj sends an upholstered sofa, stuffed with of course piles of money, to a politician to enable his supporter to become the CM. These money-stuffed sofas then are shown changing hands, marked to be given to different people. JUST LIKE THAT.
When one such money-stuffed sofa is taken dangling from a helicopter to pay off ransom, and then the notes all come flying down, the goons don’t even seem startled or happy or excited, except for a few. They trample the notes, with no respect. JUST LIKE THAT.
There is so much of visual depiction of money – notes flying , exchanging hands, boxes and boxes of notes shrink-wrapped to his syndicate, which makes one of his men faint at the sight of the cash (This is something, or possibly only realistic part of the movie!), notes in sofas, sofa dangling from helicopter. JUST LIKE THAT.
When did money become so cheap? so easy? And why?
Remember when Amitabh’s Vijay said, so self-respectfully, with his strong sense of self “Main aaj bhi phenke huey paise nahi uthata” ·
We knew that, while Vijay would go on to earn a ton of money, he would always respect The Money. JUST LIKE THAT.
What a comedown since! Pushpa Raj, he of the no-family name, disowned and shunned, goes on to become The Brand, The Wildflower with The Money, pouring with no concern.