Siddharth on landslide success of Allu Arjun-starrer ‘Pushpa: The Rule’: No big deal

Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu): Actor Siddharth, who is known for his work in ‘Rang De Basanti’, ‘Jigarthanda’ and others, does not approve of the recently released Allu Arjun-starrer ‘Pushpa: The Rule’.

A clip from Siddharth’s recent interview has gone viral on social media in which the actor can be heard comparing the Allu Arjun-starrer to the roadside construction done by JCB machines.

He told the Tamil YouTuber Madan Gowri, “That’s all marketing. It’s not a big deal to gather a crowd in India. You bring a JCB for construction and crowds will gather automatically. So it’s not a big deal getting a crowd in Bihar. They (Pushpa 2) had a song and a film so OK. In India, there’s no connection between gathering a large crowd and quality”.

He further mentioned, “If that was the case, then all the political parties would be winning. In our days, these crowds used to be about getting biryani and a quarter packet (alcohol)”.

The actor was referring to the chaos erupted in Patna's historic Gandhi Maidan on November 17, where a massive crowd drew in to catch a glimpse of the film’s lead actors Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna who were in the city for the promotion of their film.

Meanwhile, ‘Pushpa: The Rule’, which was released on December 5, is racing on the box-office with the downforce of fan adulation and the legacy built by the film’s predecessor ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ which was released in December 2021.

‘Pushpa: The Rule’ picks up from where ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ ended. It sees the Telugu superstar Allu Arjun reprising his titular role.

Prior to its release, ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ just had a cold poster launch as the Indian cinema was struggling to get back on track with its wobbly feet owing to months of lockdown and slowing down of the economy following the devastating second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in India with close to half a million casualties.

‘Pushpa: The Rule’ has so far collected Rs 880 crore worldwide.