Pushpa: The Rise () is a 2021 Indian Telugu-language action drama film directed by Sukumar and produced by Mythri Movie Makers, together with Muttamsetty Media. The first installment in the Pushpa film series, it stars Allu Arjun, alongside an ensemble cast of Rashmika Mandanna, Fahadh Faasil (in his Telugu debut), Jagadeesh Prathap Bandari, Sunil, Anasuya Bharadwaj, Rao Ramesh, Ajay and Ajay Ghosh, Dhananjaya,Shatru. The film follows Pushpa, a daily wage labourer from Chittoor Jilla who rises through the ranks of a syndicate involved in smuggling red sandalwood, a rare wood found only in the Seshachalam Hills of Andhra Pradesh.
The film began production in December 2019 but was halted in March 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming resumed in November 2020 and ended in November 2021, primarily taking place at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad and the Maredumilli forest in Andhra Pradesh. The music was composed by Devi Sri Prasad, with cinematography by Miroslaw Kuba Brozek.
Pushpa: The Rise was released worldwide on 17 December 2021 in theatres to mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances, action choreography, cinematography, direction, dialogues, and soundtrack but criticised the runtime, screenplay, plot, editing and its similarities with the KGF franchise. The film was commercially successful, grossing over ₹350–360 crore at the worldwide box office. It became the highest-grossing Indian film of 2021 and ranks among the highest-grossing Telugu films of all time.
At the 69th National Film Awards, Pushpa: The Rise won two awards – Best Actor (Arjun) and Best Music Direction (Prasad). At the 67th Filmfare Awards South, it won seven awards meant for Telugu films, including Best Film, Best Director (Sukumar) and Best Actor (Arjun). The 74th Berlinale retrospectively featured it in 2024. A sequel titled Pushpa 2: The Rule was released on 5 December 2024.
Plot In the late 1990s, Pushpa Raju, a fiercely proud labourer in the Seshachalam forests, begins working as a red sandalwood cutter alongside his friend Kesava. Employed by mid-level smuggler Konda Reddy, Pushpa quickly rises through the ranks by outsmarting the relentless Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Govindappa, and devising ingenious ways to transport contraband past police checkpoints. Impressed by his resourcefulness, regional kingpin Mangalam Srinu entrusts Konda Reddy with a large consignment, which is subsequently placed in Pushpa's care. However, Konda Reddy's jealous younger brother, Jaali Reddy, sabotages a shipment to have Pushpa arrested. Pushpa evades the ambush and saves the cargo. At a celebration hosted by Srinu, he discovers that Srinu has been embezzling much of the syndicate's profits. Pushpa informs Konda Reddy, who refuses to confront Srinu immediately because of his power.
Pushpa falls in love with Srivalli, a local milk vendor, but their engagement is violently disrupted by Mohan, Pushpa's estranged half-brother, who publicly denies his right to use their deceased father's surname and exposes his illegitimate birth. Pushpa's mother, Parvatamma, is injured in the ensuing fight, strengthening Pushpa's determination to build an empire of his own. He leaves Srinu's supply chain and establishes a direct smuggling pipeline to Murugan, a Chennai-based international buyer, agreeing to share the independent profits with Konda Reddy. Meanwhile, Jaali Reddy discovers that Srivalli's father is a police informant for Govindappa and captures him. He blackmails Srivalli, demanding sexual favours in exchange for her father's life. After she confides in Pushpa, he brutally beats Jaali, leaving him temporarily paralysed.
Fearing an internal war, Konda Reddy takes Pushpa to a secluded forest clearing under the pretence of executing him. Before he can act, they are ambushed by Srinu's brother-in-law, Mogileesu, and rival hitmen. Pushpa kills Mogileesu and saves Konda's other brother, Jakka Reddy, but Konda Reddy is killed in the chaos. At his funeral, Member of Parliament (MP) Siddhappa Naidu intervenes to prevent a gang war. After learning of Srinu's financial deception, Naidu strips him of his authority and appoints Pushpa to control the entire smuggling syndicate.
As Pushpa consolidates his control of the illegal trade, Srinu's vengeful wife, Dakshayani, vows to destroy him over Mogileesu's death. Meanwhile, the ruthless and arrogant police officer Bhanwar Singh Shekawat arrives as the new district police chief. Before marrying Srivalli, Pushpa offers Shekawat a monthly bribe in exchange for his cooperation. Shekawat instead treats him as an inferior criminal, insulting his lineage and demanding complete submission.
On the night of his wedding, Pushpa invites Shekawat to a secluded location for a drink and turns the tables, threatening him and forcing him to strip to his underwear. Pushpa strips as well, explaining that his self-respect is inherent to his character, whereas Shekawat's authority depends entirely on his uniform. He mocks Shekawat, claiming that without it even his guard dog would not recognise him. Pushpa leaves to complete his wedding rituals, while Shekawat returns home humiliated. When the dog fails to recognise him in the dark, Shekawat shoots it, then burns Pushpa's bribe money and vows revenge. When Srivalli later asks whether his struggles are finally over, Pushpa ominously replies that the war has only just begun.
Cast
Production Development Post the success of Rangasthalam (2018), Sukumar narrated a script to Mahesh Babu, with whom he previously worked in 1: Nenokkadine (2014). Babu, who liked the story, gave a nod to the project and was reported to start the shoot after completing Vamshi Paidipally's project Maharshi (2019). In mid-April 2018, Mythri Movie Makers, which collaborated with Sukumar in their previous film Rangasthalam, officially announced the project which was tentatively titled as #SSMB26, thus marking their second collaboration with Babu and Sukumar. The film was expected to begin in January 2019, but, in that March, Babu walked out of Sukumar's project, citing creative differences, and he confirmed this through Twitter. The actor instead signed his next project with Anil Ravipudi titled Sarileru Neekevvaru, Whereas Sukumar approached Allu Arjun for his next film, marking his reunion with the director after a decade since Arya 2 (2009); Mythri Movie Makers, which earlier associated with Babu and Sukumar's project, also agreed to produce the venture.
In an interview with Press Trust of India, Sukumar stated, "I couldn't make Mahesh Babu cool. He is very fair. So, the backdrop was the same but the story is different."
Pre-production
Sukumar described the storyline as follows: "The red sanders heist in the hills of Andhra is a convoluted nexus that unfurls in the course of the narrative through a coolie-turned-smuggler." Sukumar explored the subject of red sandalwood smuggling when he read about such incidents in Andhra Pradesh years ago. Sukumar did his research and thought of developing the project as a web series. However, he later decided to turn the project into a feature film. He personally went for location scouting across Nallamala Hills, as the film is set in Rayalaseema and Nellore, and the plot revolves around red sanders smuggling. Since most of the film takes place in a rural backdrop, Allu Arjun was reported to have learned the Chittoor accent for the film, and the makers hired a team from Bollywood to work on his look. Seshachalam forest, located in the hilly region of Tirumala, serves as the backdrop for the story. Polish cinematographer Miroslaw Kuba Brozek, who worked for Nani's Gangleader (2019) was signed for the film. Karthika Srinivas performed the film's editing, whereas Mounika and Ramakrishna, the art directors of Sukumar's previous film Rangasthalam (2018) were chosen for production design. Resul Pookutty signed for the film's sound design, along with Vijay Kumar. The film's title Pushpa was officially announced on 8 April 2020, on the occasion of Allu Arjun's birthday, and a poster was also released.
Casting Allu Arjun played the titular character Pushpa Raj, a red-sanders smuggler, and sported a bearded look for his role in the film. Rashmika Mandanna was cast as the film's lead actress, with an official announcement made on Allu Arjun's birthday (8 April 2019). Mandanna in an online interaction confirmed that she will be learning a new dialect for the film, like Arjun, which is slightly based on the dialect of Chittoor. Jisshu Sengupta was originally offered to play the antagonist but he refused due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and time constraints. Vijay Sethupathi entered talks to play the antagonist in October 2019, having worked with Sukumar in the director's production venture Uppena (2021), and was confirmed to be part of the film in January 2020. However, in July 2020, Sethupathi left the film citing scheduling conflicts. Post Sethupathi's exit, Vikram, Bobby Simha, Madhavan and Arya were reported to be playing negative roles in the film, but ultimately Malayalam actor Fahadh Faasil was announced as the film's antagonist in March 2021, thus marking his debut in Telugu cinema. For his role in the film, Fahadh sported a bald look and a rough moustache.
In April 2020, reports indicated that Kannada actor Dhananjaya would play a pivotal role. The film's second schedule cast Sunil in a supporting role in November 2020. Reports suggested that Sunil's character exhibited ambiguity in the film. Despite reports of Anasuya Bharadwaj playing a crucial role, she later clarified that no one approached her for the film. However, Bharadwaj joined the film's shooting in April 2021. Sritej confirmed his casting as Pushpa Raj's brother in July 2021. The film had three antagonists, with Sunil and Anasuya being the antagonists in the first part, Fahadh's character, Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat, who is the main antagonist, will only make an appearance at the end of the first part and will persist throughout its sequel Jagadeesh was cast by Sukumar after he watched his performances in the films Mallesham (2019) and George Reddy (2019). In an interview, Jagadeesh Prathap Bandari revealed that he had left 15 smaller projects for working in the film. Samantha joined the production in late-November 2021. She shot for the item song "Oo Antava Oo Oo Antava" alongside Allu Arjun and others. On working in the song, she said that "being sexy is next level hard work".
Filming In July 2019, the makers planned to start filming during the occasion of Dusshera (7 October 2019). However, the launch event of the film took place on 30 October 2019, with a formal puja ceremony (muhurat shot) held in Hyderabad at the office of Mythri Movie Makers, with the film's cast and crew being present at the event. In December 2019, Sukumar performed a test shoot in Kerala's Athirappilly Falls. After Allu Arjun's involvement in the promotions of Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020), the makers planned to shoot the first schedule of the film in Kerala in March 2020, with Arjun joining the schedule, however, the filming was halted due to COVID-19 pandemic in India.
For a 6-minute action sequence in the film, the team planned to hire action choreographers from South India, instead of opting for foreign technicians. Thus, the film became a "Make In India" project, and an initiative to provide employment to the workers from the Indian film industry, after some technicians faced employment crisis due to the pandemic. This sequence was reported to be made a cost of and Allu Arjun trained intensively for it.