Pushpa: The Rise - Part 01 (Hindi) is nearly 3 hours long but keeps one engaged throughout. The film is mounted on a huge scale and is massy from the word ‘Go’. The way writer-director Sukumar has handled certain action and confrontational scenes has to be seen to be believed. And it’s fun to see the film in cinemas, especially how the Hindi audiences are reacting to Allu Arjun’s scenes; it shows how he has made a place in their hearts thanks to the Hindi dubbed releases of films on television and YouTube. The film gets dragging, has too many characters and certain developments are difficult to digest. But these are minor complaints. Allu Arjun is a star and performs like a pro. His action and comic timing are excellent. The Hindi dubbing by Shreyas Talpade adds to the fun. Rashmika Mandanna's track is weak. But she puts up a confident performance and this turns out to be an apt platform for her to get introduced to Hindi audiences before her Bollywood debut in 2022. Fahadh Faasil is terrific as always and one can’t wait to see what he has to offer in the sequel. Others also do well. The Hindi soundtrack is forgettable but the songs are very well shot. All in all, Pushpa: The Rise - Part 01 is a paisa-vasool entertainer and deserves a watch in the cinemas!

My rating - **** out of 5!