In the pantheon of contemporary Indian film protagonists, Pushpa stands at the top.

He begins as a man on the margins – a day laborer with a feminine name that means “flower” and a mountain-sized chip on his sloping shoulder. But Pushpa is so clever and so fearless that he soon rises into the ranks of a sandalwood smuggling company and becomes head of the syndicate and godfather of the town of Chittoor.

However, power and money do not motivate Pushpa. Above all, he wants respect and legitimacy, which he has been denied since childhood because his father never legally married his mother. Pushpa seems to be as invincible as a Marvel superhero. But like Amitabh Bachchan DeewarPushpa, who has “mera baap chor hai” (“My father is a thief”) tattooed on his arm, is also permanently scarred. It’s a powerful combination.

The extravagant and fertile imagination of writer-director Sukumar Bandreddi has found a fitting expression in the talent and commitment of Allu Arjun, who lives in Pushpa as if he had never been anyone else. In Pushpa 2: The Rulethe actor romanticizes, dances, cries, boasts, mutilates and murders. There are times when he beats men to a pulp while wearing makeup, a sari, earrings and bangles; Frankly, I don’t know many leading men who could do that.

The sequel is set to be India’s biggest event film, and Sukumar and Arjun don’t take the lazy route (although there is an absolutely unforgettable dance number). This film has sweat, ambition and audacity. And yet we have to ask: How much Pushpa is too much Pushpa? Because three hours and 20 minutes is definitely an overdose.

Like his hero, Sukumar is not afraid. In 2021 Pushpa: The AscensionIn the last 25 minutes of the film, he introduced a new character, Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat (Fahadh Faasil). Here he creates one dazzling highlight sequence after another.

At least in the first half, most of the plot revolves around Pushpa and Shekhawat trying to outsmart each other. Pushpa is now an international actor who can manipulate elections and prime ministerial positions. But he also has to smuggle thousands of tons of sandalwood from India. And he has to make sure his wife Srivalli (Rashmika Mandanna) is happy. The fearsome Pushpa sits next to her in the kitchen and at one point kisses her foot. In the second half, attention shifts to Pushpa’s extended family as a new enemy comes to the fore. (This story will of course continue Pushpa 3: The rampage.)

Sukumar is not short of ideas. There are moments in the film that are inventive and surprising and elicit applause. The pre-break block will probably make you laugh. And despite the furious action – at one point Pushpa cuts off limbs – there are emotional moments that move you to tears. There are also a lot of killer lines about Pushpa being his own brand. “If there is Pushpa, there is business,” he explains at the beginning of the film.

Sukumar also allows other characters to flourish. Shekhawat is essentially from Shammi Kumbalangi nightsalso played by Faasil, on steroids and in uniform. He’s deliciously unhinged. Mandanna has to perform a lot of vigorous acrobatic dancing, but she gets to shine in one scene. She supports Srivalli and stands her ground against Arjun.

But Pushpa 2: The Rule stalls because it stays in maximum mode from the first to the last image. There is no room here for silence and pause. It’s a turbo-charged narrative that drags on for so long that the tension inevitably wears off. I wonder if Sukumar was just too in love with his own creation.

Scene after scene proves Pushpa’s cunning and courage. In the first half hour, the film celebrates its hero so much that it feels like we’re watching different slow-motion introductions over and over again. The cat and mouse game between Pushpa and Shekhawat also repeats itself.

Devi Sri Prasad’s songs only add to the length. The composer who gave us the unforgettable songs “Oo Antava” and “Srivalli” in the first film cannot repeat the magic here. But the background music, also by DSP with additional music by Sam CS, goes a long way in enhancing the action.

The weakest link in Pushpa 2: The Rule is a subplot with an underwritten female character, added only to advance the hero’s arc. Similar to the teacher in Simmba or the teacher in Vettiyanit is essentially a breeding ground for sexual assault, the depiction of which is unnecessarily crude here.

Logic or the laws of physics do not apply in a film like this Pushpa 2but we eventually get a sequence where Pushpa, with her hands and feet tied, fights and defeats dozens of knife-wielding men. He is like a rocket moving in different directions and even his teeth become deadly weapons. He appears to be a man possessed by a divine rage. It’s almost ridiculous, and all these moving parts don’t always fit together cohesively. But Arjun goes ahead and fires with all guns blazing.

I left the theater full of anticipation Pushpa 3: The rampagebut also so exhausted that I’m grateful that these films took a few years to make. We need time to think about Pushpa – and also to recover from him.