Telugu literary performer and Padma Shri award winner Garikapati Narasimha Rao, in an interview with a Telugu news channel, has slammed the recently released Telugu film Pushpa: The Rise, starring actor Allu Arjun, for glorifying a smuggler, while also promoting violence.
Pushpa was released in theatres in December 2021 in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi. It stars Allu Arjun in the titular character, Pushpa Raj, and is set against the backdrop of red sandalwood smuggling. The film is directed by Sukumar and produced by Mythri Movie Makers.
Pushpa raked in huge collections at the box office, especially in the Hindi and Telugu markets, with the film grossing over Rs 100 crore within a couple of days of its release.
While the film still continues to be popular, Rao, who recently won the Padma Shri award, has criticised its makers in an interview with CVR News. “The film glorifies a smuggler by presenting him as the hero. This might influence many and set a dangerous precedent. They are also planning to release the film in parts,” he said.
He also criticised the Thaggedhe Le dialogue from Pushpa and questioned, “The dialogue can be said by noble people, but it is said by a smuggler after beating up someone. If someone beats a random individual in public and says this dialogue, Thaggedhe Le, who will be responsible for it? Will the filmmaker take the responsibility? This film angers me by normalising such things and I will question the makers, if I get to confront them.” Rao added that many films are promoting bad ideologies and content in the form of entertainment.
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Meanwhile, the Maharashtra police recently nabbed a red sandalwood smuggler in Sangli district, when he was en route to the state from the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border, and seized sandalwood worth over Rs two crore. Inspired by a scene from Pushpa where the protagonist loads a truck full of wood and covers it with milk, the real-life smuggler loaded his truck with wood and covered it with fruits and vegetable cartons.
The makers of the film have not commented on Rao’s criticism yet. Pushpa is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The film also stars Rashmika Mandanna and Fahadh Faasil, while Samantha Ruth Prabhu makes a guest appearance in a special song. The film will be released in two parts with the second installment titled Pushpa-The Rule.