There is something weird about the career graph of director Sukumar. When the Telugu audience were considering him a maverick genius, he was nowhere to be seen on the national map. When he became a sensation among Bollywood circles and delivered one of the biggest commercial money-spinners in the history of Indian cinema, the Telugu audience started seeing him as an under-performer.
A majority of the Telugu audience are not in awe of 'Pushpa 2'. If the film is doing great in the Telugu States, it's only because it's an Allu Arjun product. Bunny's heroism and haunting performance is what worked for the movie.
Script-wise, 'Pushpa 2' is like the middle portions of a typical web series. Most web series have nothing to offer in the middle episodes. In the same way, 'Pushpa 2' has no story to tell before 'Pushpa 3: The Rampage' rounds off the saga.
Sukumar's image of a genius has taken a beating in Telugu. 'Rangasthalam' and '1: Nenokkadine' remain his crowning achievements, although the latter was a commercial flop. 'Pushpa: The Rise', too, was not great in terms of ideas, although Sukumar was in the right form in building Pushpa Raj's character.
