Pushpa, the upcoming Telugu film starring actor Allu Arjun in the lead, is set to be released in two parts, producer Y Ravi Shankar of Mythri Movie Makers banner which is backing the film, told Silverscreen India on Wednesday.
“We have planned to release Pushpa in two parts. We were on this discussion since November 2020 and we thought we will announce it at the appropriate time. We are pretty clear about what the film is right now and thought it will be a wise idea to release it in two parts. It has got excellent content and since there is a lot to tell, we thought we could not do it at one go,” Ravi told Silverscreen India.
He clarified that the decision to release the film in two parts was unrelated to the Covid-19 pandemic or financial reasons.
Written and directed by Sukumar, the film also stars Rashmika Mandanna in the lead role. The makers of Pushpa announced in March that National Award-winning Malayalam actor Fahadh Faasil has been cast as the antagonist in the film.
Welcoming #FahadhFaasil on board for the biggest face-off 😈@alluarjun @iamRashmika @aryasukku @ThisIsDSP @PushpaMovie #VillainOfPushpa #Pushpa
పుష్ప പുഷ്പ புஷ்பா ಪುಷ್ಪ पुष्पा pic.twitter.com/ndweB09rXi
— Mythri Movie Makers (@MythriOfficial) March 21, 2021
The team had shot for 110 days and there is 25-30 days of shoot still remaining, Ravi said.
“We have shot two songs, three more are left to film. You will see everyone, almost all the main cast members, including Fahadh in the first part,” he said.
Asked about new cast members joining the second part, Ravi said: “Yes, there will be all such types of things for the second part to be curious and interesting.”
The film is produced by Naveen Yerneni and Ravi Shankar. Expected to be an action thriller, the film’s publicity manager Eluru Srinu had told Silverscreen India earlier that the film is set against the backdrop of the smuggling of red sandalwood.
The film, which went on floors in November 2020, was shot in the forest areas of Maredumilli near Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh. However, in April, the filming came to a halt after Allu Arjun tested positive for Covid-19 during the shoot break. Eluru had said that the team was planning to resume production in mid-May.
Allu Arjun on Wednesday announced that he had tested negative for the virus and completed 15 days of quarantine.
Meeting family after testing negative and 15 days of quarantine. Missed the kids soo much 🖤 pic.twitter.com/ubrBGI2mER
— Allu Arjun (@alluarjun) May 12, 2021
While the film was initially scheduled to release on August 13, the makers are now planning to release it in October.
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“We need to release it only in theatres, we will never release directly on OTTs. Even for our previous film Uppena, we waited for one year and released in theatres,” Ravi said.
Speaking about the second part, Ravi said, “While we were shooting for the first part, about 10% scenes of the second part was shot. Once the first installment is released, we will commence with the rest of the second part. There will be more thrilling elements in the second part.”
While Pushpa will be shot separately in Malayalam and Telugu, dubbed versions will be released in Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi. Music is composed by Devi Sri Prasad and Karthika Srinivas is in charge of editing. Miroslaw Kuba Brozek is the cinematographer.