Film

Pushpa: The Rise

A Telugu-language crime thriller about a sandalwood smuggler's ruthless climb to power. Allu Arjun carries nearly three hours of swagger, swagger, and more swagger—a performance so committed to its own charisma that the film bends around it. Violent, operatic, and built on the principle that style is never wasted on substance. For fans of larger-than-life anti-heroes and unapologetic action cinema.

TMDb rating3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you crave a crime saga powered by a swaggering antihero, with a rough-edged romance and loud, cheerfully excessive action that doesn't apologise for itself.

Skip it if you find three-hour-plus action films a slog, since this runs close to three hours and spends long stretches on swagger and repetition.

What it asks of you: It settles in for nearly three hours, moving at a steady, unhurried clip before its violent set pieces arrive, and it rewards you for sitting through the long, grubby middle.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 12012

A two-part Indian crime epic with similar DNA: a nobody's rise through brutality and cunning, ensemble cast, regional specificity, and a protagonist whose magnetism survives moral bankruptcy. Energetic and funny in ways that deepen rather than undercut the violence.

But At nearly five hours total, it demands real commitment. Subtitles plus dense Hindi dialogue can be taxing over that length.

Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1 poster

Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai2010

Bollywood's answer to *Scarface*: a street-smart nobody becomes a don, told with genuine style and Ajay Devgn's compelling moral decay. The film loves its protagonist's rise even as it shows us why he'll fall.

But The romance subplot is obligatory Bollywood padding. Some scenes prioritise melodrama over credibility.

Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai poster

Jai Bhim2021

Tamil courtroom thriller with a protagonist who fights the system instead of feeding it. Features Suriya at his most dignified, opposite Fahadh Faasil (who plays the antagonist in Pushpa). Morally serious without preaching.

But Deeply painful: police brutality and caste violence are not softened for comfort. This is not escapism.

Jai Bhim poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Pushpa: The Rise

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Godfather Part II1974

Both follow a charismatic nobody's transformation into a criminal power through ambition, intelligence, and calculated violence. Both understand that the audience will root for the protagonist even as the film diagnoses him.

The foundational text for crime epics about self-made men: Vito's rise parallels Michael's consolidation of power. Coppola understands that charisma is both the greatest asset and the blindfold that leads to tragedy. Pushpa channels this DNA—the operatic violence, the logic of power, the slow moral corruption.

But Glacially paced by modern standards; three hours and twenty minutes that assume patience. The Sicilian sequences speak softly. If you want constant kinetic energy, you'll be frustrated.

The Godfather Part II poster
More like this (6)

Eega2012

Director S.S. Rajamouli's dark comedy about a man reborn as a fly seeking revenge. Genre-defying, visually inventive, and proves Rajamouli's gift for making impossible premises feel inevitable. A film that *refuses* to be sensible.

But The tone whips between comic and brutal. If you can't ride that tonal swing, it'll feel chaotic rather than clever.

Eega poster

Kabali2016

Rajinikanth as an aging don reclaiming his empire. Pure style over plot, built entirely on star power and the pleasure of watching an icon command the frame. For when substance matters less than presence.

But The plot is genuinely nonsensical, and the film does not care. If narrative coherence matters to you, walk away.

Kabali poster

Rang De Basanti2006

A different kind of rage: idealistic men fighting corruption and exploitation. Aamir Khan at his most charismatic, ensemble chemistry that feels genuine, and action that grows from character rather than spectacle.

But The second half pivots toward something graver and more nihilistic; tonal shifts can feel jarring if you're not prepared.

Rang De Basanti poster

Highway2014

An outlier: a kidnapper and victim form an unexpected bond across India's highways. Intimate, strange, morally murky in ways that reward thought. Alia Bhatt gives one of her finest performances.

But Deliberately slow and poetic. The crimes are treated seriously, not romantically. Many will find it too quiet and introspective.

Highway poster

Drishyam2015

Malayalam thriller where an ordinary man outwits the police through clever improvisation. Tightly plotted, genuinely suspenseful, and a reminder that a common person can be smarter than the system designed to catch him.

But Less stylish than Pushpa, more puzzle-box than character study. If you came for swagger, you'll find bureaucracy instead.

Drishyam poster

A Prophet2009

Structural inversion: Pushpa rises through a world of contraband; Malik rises through an enclosed system. Both are about a nobody's intelligence making him dangerous to those with formal power. Both understand that charisma and ruthlessness are inseparable.

French prison thriller about a young Arab boy becoming a kingpin within prison walls. Scenes of genuine brutality and claustrophobia, but the focus is on intelligence and adaptation—how a child learns to survive and eventually rule. Visceral without being spectacular.

But Deliberately unglamorous: grey walls, small rooms, men slowly hardening. No operatic style, no swaggering camera work. Some will find it bleak rather than exciting.

A Prophet poster

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Recommended by

Eega, K.G.F: Chapter 1, Nela Ticket, Gabbar Singh, Sarrainodu, Rangasthalam, Salaar: Part 1 - Ceasefire, Thottam, Bheemla Nayak, Thaandavam, Khaidi No. 150, Khiladi, Jai Chiranjeeva, Garuda