Shriya Week 9: Pushpa & Power (Spoiler Alert!!)
Precisely one week ago, my family and I went to the theaters to watch a new movie: Pushpa 2: The Rule. This is the first movie we watched in 2025, and its plot and catchy soundtrack have made a permanent spot for themselves in my head. In fact, sometimes, I randomly find myself humming its tunes (since the lyrics, themselves, are a little vulgar) and chanting sayings from the movie. But what makes the film so unique is not its amazing music and vibrant, traditional costumes, but rather the commentary it indirectly makes on society and power through its plot and morally gray characters.
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Surprisingly, the sequel was even better than the first movie! It details Pushpa’s power struggles as an influential person in this society. When his wife longingly asks him to take a picture with the Chief Minister of their state, the Chief Minister declines, seeing taking a picture with a prolific smuggler as shameful. Can you really blame him for that, though?
However, after this incident, Pushpa feels angry and humiliated, so he ups his smuggling game and becomes more powerful, eventually replacing the Chief Minister with an acquaintance of his own (through bribes!!). This power, coupled with his compassionate actions toward community members, leads to his biological father’s family finally accepting him, and everyone in his community begins to treat him with much more esteem.
Power corrupts. But sometimes, it’s not all that negative. Through the experience of Pushpa, it’s clear that power not only brings greed, but also respect and the ability to make larger changes in society. In his childhood and adolescence, Pushpa was the laughing stock of the town, constantly being bullied by his peers for having a single mother and being so helpless. However, his rise to fame, despite being through smuggling, gives him the ability to help people in his community, whether it’s through providing financial assistance or help to women facing struggles. Not only that, with this power, he earns the respect of those in society who once treated him as an “other.”
And that’s why this movie is so amazing. Its plot provides an interesting commentary on power without being “black and white” like many other movies. Even for an audience in search of a light story, this movie is extremely entertaining. I would rate it a solid 8/10 (two points deducted because I had to close my eyes when people were getting beheaded and losing limbs), and I definitely recommend it!
Hello Shriya! Your first blog post with this cohort caught my attention right away because of the unique acrostic-style format in which you wrote it. You were able to take me through an intriguing narrative of you watching this movie, and I was immersed and with you through the entire story. Although I myself have not watched this movie, you made me feel as though I knew exactly what happened. It is interesting to see how the film explores a morally gray character that deals with socioeconomic and familial issues. The connection between that and the theme of power is well-done: your writing analyzes how power can be both good and bad, and that it is a spectrum rather than a black-and-white. In the example of Pushpa, you examine how the power that came with his illegal smuggling was, of course, obtained in dubious ways, but also allowed him to give back to his community and help his people out. I had a fun time reading your blog this week, and I anticipate reading more from you with this new cohort!
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