Allu Arjun's 'Pushpa 2': What Bollywood Can Learn From The Frenzy Of The Film’s Promotional Campaign

On November 17, Allu Arjun stood in front of a large gathering — mimicking the political rally of a star campaigner — and asked for forgiveness. In Patna, Bihar, he addressed a crowd of over two lakh people who had gathered for a glimpse of the Stylish Star.

"Mera Hindi thoda galat hai, maaf kar dena mere bhai. Karege na? (My Hindi is weak. If I fumble, please forgive me, won’t you?). Thank you!" Allu Arjun said as the crowd cheered him on at the grand trailer launch of Pushpa 2.

A Telugu star did what many in the Hindi film industry hadn't attempted in the last few years: he directly addressed the masses.

Pushpa 2: The Rule is the highly anticipated sequel to the 2021 blockbuster, which netted a whopping ₹267 crore even as the country was grappling with the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Of the film’s total box-office earnings,the Hindi version alone netted  ₹106 cr. The film’s tagline, "Jhukega nahi, (we won’t bend)" rang true.

When it came to launching the trailer of its sequel, many were surprised that the producers, Mythri Movie Makers, zeroed in on Patna, a non-traditional market for a Telugu film. But this decision wasn't taken without a studied strategy and weeks of brainstorming. It took a team of 500 members — including the event agency — over 40 days to ensure that when Allu Arjun stepped onto the massive Gandhi Maidan stage and said, "Pushpa isn't fire, he is wildfire," a message was sent out loud and clear. The actor had made a new territory his backyard.

Why was Patna chosen as a venue?

This was the first time a Telugu film held a trailer launch outside the state, a decision exhibitor Vishek Chauhan — who runs Roopbani Cinema in Purnea, Bihar— says made the intention of the makers clear. "It indicates that Pushpa is not a Telugu film; it is an Indian film. By launching the trailer in the heartland, they unshackled the movie from the 'South India' bracket."

A source associated with the publicity of the film said that in marketing, "the location is the message." The team applied their decades of experience in the field of identifying various "energy zones" across the country and figuring out what promotional tactics a particular film needs.

"For Pushpa, Patna was selected because the people there are ready to be energised. That kind of energy is hard to replicate anywhere else," the source said, adding that the team had internally discussed a couple of other city options but ultimately, decided on "the heartland".

Could Pushpa 2 have been launched in a city like Varanasi? No, the marketing source said, as it wouldn't have aligned with the film’s brand image. "We have held events in Varanasi for other movies, but the energy there is different, it is philosophical, it is spiritual; it is not the raw energy of the masses, which Patna is.”

Once  the launch idea was floated, the team was on board instantly. So was Allu Arjun, who  the source added, "believes in specialists". The next step was to figure out a venue. Gandhi Maidan, in the heart of the city, is also one of its largest vacant spaces, making it accessible to all.

"Strategically, if we try to find a venue similar to this, we'd have to go out of the city or to some isolated points," the source said, recalling how Shah Rukh Khan had gone to the same venue in 2011 to  promote Don 2, and saw a "jam-packed" Gandhi Maidan.

What followed then was getting all the administrative permissions — which the team procured smoothly — and not only securing the presence of  Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, but also setting up speeches by Allu Arjun and Pushpa 2 co-star Rashmika Mandanna, and performances by singer Nakash Aziz and Bhojpuri star Akshara Singh.

'Not just energy, but also numbers'

The Patna event was also motivated by the desire to penetrate deeper into the film’s core base, which is where its box-office figures come into play. In the Hindi market, Pushpa: The Rise was sandwiched between two big releases: Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was released a week before, and the Ranveer Singh-led 83, which opened a week after.

"We were expecting nothing from the film before that Friday," Vishek said, "And it opened to a full house on day one in my cinema hall!" The exhibitor said he assigned three shows to Spider-Man: No Way Home and one to Pushpa, which remained sold-out for the entire week.

"When the 83 distributors asked for three shows a week later, I said no. I didn't screen that film at all, and in week two, I increased the number of Pushpa shows and even those were sold out. It was a rage... right up till the cinemas were shut down on January 1," he added. By the end of its run, Pushpa: The Rise had minted over ₹ 4 crore from Bihar, a solid figure for a film headlined by Allu Arjun, who was debuting theatrically for the Hindi audience.

Trade critic Ramesh Bala says that the Pushpa 2 makers launching their campaign from Patna signals that the makers care about the Hindi market because it has the biggest box-office share. It  has the potential to do over ₹ 700 crore gross, while the Telugu market could do ₹400 crore gross, and the Tamil market is around ₹ 200 crore gross. The film’s next event will be held in Chennai.

"Allu Arjun has the Telugu market captive,it won't go anywhere. The Hindi market is a fresh territory, so it is better to catch fish there. Their success there is a must. Baahubali 2 and KGF 2 reached the ₹1000 crore mark with the help of their Hindi collections only," Bala said. SS Rajamouli's Baahubali 2 netted over ₹1,000 crore in India, of which the Hindi market contributed ₹500 crore, while KGF 2's worldwide gross of ₹1,200 crore had a Hindi box-office gross of over ₹500 crore.

Bollywood's failure to create new superstars

RJ Nitin, who hosted the mega event, said that posters of the trailer launch plastered all over the city helped drum up on-ground support, which was so "maddening" that even he had to be escorted out of the venue as fans started mobbing him after Allu Arjun left.

"When the event kicked off in the evening, fans climbed the sound tower to get a better view of Allu. Despite repeated announcements, no one was ready to come down. While this euphoria was erupting, Allu was zen-like. That was a wonderful contrast: a sea of madness, and a calm man in the center. They felt like Allu Arjun belonged to them, and that's a rare quality which I don't think many in the film industry possess," Nitin said.

Between Shah Rukh Khan going to Patna over a decade ago and Allu Arjun making his presence felt there last week, a lot has changed in the Hindi film industry. Industry sources said that  aside from the three Khans — Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh — Bollywood has failed to create stars, who can deliver big box-office figures and for whom people would gather in huge numbers.

Chauhan adds that Allu Arjun has created a "pandemonium" of sorts with just the Pushpa phenomenon and a steady run of dubbed films on satellite — the Pushpa 2 event only lays bare what Bollywood is missing out on.

"KGF and Pushpa are Amitabh Bachchan cinema on steroids for the modern generation. That's the commercial Hindi cinema format that was invented by Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra with Amit ji; that is also the format we have forgotten to make. What Bollywood doesn't realise is that they are missing out on small-town India by making films that only cater to the urban centers. Imagine what a solid Salman Khan film will do if he comes to Bihar," he said.

The exhibitor added that while Bollywood had cocooned itself in Mumbai, Telugu filmmakers were targeting their territory right in front of them.  “They’re showing you the potential of small-town India and the power of stardom. People are still crazy about films, but you've got to make those films to ignite that passion again."