Pushpa 2: The Rule

Pushpa 2: The Rule is an upcoming Indian Telugu-language action drama film directed and written by Sukumar under his banner Sukumar Writings and produced by Naveen Yerneni and Yalamanchili Ravi Shankar under their Mythri Movie Makers banner. The film stars Allu Arjun in the titular role, with the ensemble cast of Fahadh Faasil, Rashmika Mandanna, Dhananjaya, Jagadeesh Prathap Bandari, Rao Ramesh, Ajay, Sunil, Anasuya Bharadwaj, Shanmukh and Ajay Ghosh reprising their roles from the previous film. It is the second installment in the Pushpa film series and the sequel to Pushpa: The Rise.

10% of the film's footage was initially shot back-to-back with the original film. However, Sukumar decided to alter the story, which led to the film's principal photography commencing in October 2022. Made on a budget of ₹500 crore, the film is one of the most expensive Indian films to date. It is scheduled to release on 6 December 2024.

Cast

 * Allu Arjun as Pushpa Raj
 * Fahadh Faasil as SP Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat IPS
 * Rashmika Mandanna as Srivalli, Pushpa's wife
 * Jagadeesh Prathap Bandari as Kesava "Mondelu", Pushpa's friend
 * Jagapathi Babu
 * Prakash Raj
 * Sunil as Mangalam Srinu
 * Anasuya Bharadwaj as Dakshayani, Mangalam Srinu's wife
 * Rao Ramesh as MP Bhumireddy Siddappa Naidu
 * Ajay Ghosh as Konda Reddy
 * Dhananjaya as Jaali Reddy
 * Shanmukh as Jakka Reddy
 * Ajay as Molleti Mohan, Pushpa's elder half-brother
 * Sritej as Molleti Dharma Raj, Pushpa's second elder half-brother
 * Mime Gopi as Chennai Murugan
 * Brahmaji as Sub-Inspector Kupparaj
 * Kalpalatha as Parvatamma, Pushpa's mother

Development
Before the release of Pushpa: The Rise in 2021, the film was announced to release in two parts, with the filmmakers stating that the maiden part would release that year, whereas the latter part would release the year after (2022). Initially, 10% of the sequel's footage was shot back-to-back with the first part, however, Sukumar decided to alter the sequel's story to reportedly fulfill the audience's anticipation and correct the previous film's mistakes. The scripting part of the film was completed by July 2022 in Hyderabad. The official title, Pushpa 2: The Rule, was announced on 22 August 2022. An inaugural muhurat puja ceremony was held on the same day in Hyderabad with the presence of the film's cast and crew.

Sukumar wrote the film's script while Srikanth Vissa contributed in the dialogues. Sukumar further retained most of the technicians from previous part including cinematographer Miroslaw Kuba Brozek, editor Karthika Srinivas and Ruben, art director S. Ramakrishna and Monica Nigotre and sound designer Resul Pookutty and Vijay Kumar. Deepali Noor and Sheetal Sharma served as costume designers while Preeti Sheel Singh was hired as character designer. Peter Hein, Kecha Kamphakdee, Dragon Prakash and Nabakanta were hired as stunt directors. Dance choreographers of the film includes Prem Rakshith, Ganesh Acharya, Vijay Polaki and Shrashti Verma.

Casting
While Allu Arjun, Fahadh Faasil, Rashmika Mandanna, Dhananjaya, Rao Ramesh, Sunil, Anasuya Bharadwaj, Ajay Ghosh and other remaining actors from first part have reprised their respective roles, Jagapathi Babu was roped in for a pivotal role in April 2023. It was reported that Sreeleela was offered for an item song but later rejected it. Later, it was reported that Disha Patani was roped in for a special song.

Filming
Principal photography began with a test shoot on 30 October 2022 in Hyderabad. In January 2023, an action sequence was shot in Visakhapatnam. In March 2023, some scenes were shot in Bangalore. Rumours were circulated that the shooting of the film was stopped as director was unsatisfied but later turned out to be false as shooting was again started after a few days. In April 2023, some forest sequences were shot in Malkangiri district of Odisha. Jagapathi Babu was cast in April 2023. Fahad Faasil joined the sets in May 2023 while Rashmika joined the sets in June 2023. On 3 June 2023, a bus carrying crew artist from the film met with an accident near the Vijayawada–Hyderabad Expressway. In August 2023, some scenes were shot in Ramoji Film City. In November 2023, the filming resumed in Hyderabad. In December 2023, the filming was postponed due to Allu Arjun's health. In March 2024, some sequences were shot in Vizag and Yaganti Temple. It was later reported that the makers spend ₹60 crore for the Gangamma Jatara performance and a fight sequence. In April 2024, a massive underwater sequence was shot in Hyderabad. In May 2024, it was reported that the film will have multiple endings and to maintain secrecy the makers opted the no phone policy on the film set. In July 2024, it was reported that shooting of film was delayed due to rift and creative differences between Allu Arjun and Sukumar, however they were later turned false.

Post-production
Editing was handled by Karthika Srinivas and Ruben. The VFX work of the film is done by Makuta VFX. RC Kamalakannan served as the visual effects supervisor. Resul Pookutty and Vijay Kumar served as the sound designers. Just like the previous part, Shreyas Talpade dubbed for Allu Arjun in the film's Hindi version. In May 2024, both Ruben and Karthika Srinivas opted out of the film due to scheduling conflicts and creative differences, later they were replaced by Naveen Nooli, marking his third collaboration with Sukumar after Nannaku Prematho (2016) and Rangasthalam (2018).

Music
The music of the film is composed by Devi Sri Prasad, while the lyrics are written by Chandrabose. The music rights of the film were acquired by T-Series. The first single titled "Pushpa Pushpa" was released on 1 May 2024. The second single titled "Sooseki (The Couple Song)" was released on 29 May 2024.

Marketing
The first-look poster along with an announcement glimpse video was released on 8 April 2023, coinciding with Allu Arjun's 41st birthday. The first look poster of Fahadh Faasil was released on 8 August 2023. The teaser of the film was released a year later on 8 April 2024, coinciding with Arjun's 42nd birthday.

Theatrical
The film is scheduled to release on 6 December 2024 in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali and Malayalam languages. Previously, the film was announced to release on 15 August 2024, coinciding with Independence Day but due to unfinished shooting and post-production work it was eventually postponed. It is the first Pan-Indian film to release in Bengali language.

Distribution
The North India distribution rights were acquired by AA Films in ₹200 crore. The distribution rights for North America were acquired by Prathyangira Cinemas and AA Creations. The Kerala and Karnataka distribution rights were acquired by E4 Entertainment and N Cinemas respectively. AGS Entertainment acquired the Tamil Nadu distribution rights.

Home media
The digital streaming rights and satellite rights of the film were acquired by Netflix and Star Maa, respectively.