THE HERO WHO ENCHANTS A NATION

When the trailer of Allu Arjun's Pushpa 2: The Rule was launched in Patna, thousands thronged the event, eager to catch a glimpse of the star who embodies the almost-mythical protagonist of the franchise.

- SHREYAS PANDE

For an audience often alienated by language barriers, Pushpa speaks a universal dialect of defiance and resilience. Bihar, a state known for its rampant worker migration, connects deeply with Pushpa's disheveled hair, stained clothes, and beedi-smoking demeanor. He isn't just a cinematic hero; he's one of them.

His unyielding self-respect and fearless defiance become cathartic, a cinematic escape from their oppressive reality. The overwhelming success of Pushpa in the northern belts lies in this inherent working-class ethos. When modern Hindi cinema heroes often emerge from urban spaces, suited up and armed with high-tech gadgets, Pushpa cuts a strikingly raw figure, holding nothing more than an axe.

This spirit of rebellion and dignity recalls Amitabh Bachchan's iconic working-class hero from Deewar (1975). In the first Pushpa, when his boss asks him to change his sitting posture, Pushpa quits the job, refusing even an extra note offered as a settlement.

"This is enough for the work I have done," he says, echoing Bachchan's Vijay in Deewar: "Main aaj bhi phenke hue paise nahi uthata" (I refuse to accept money that is thrown at me).