Ahead of the Dec 5 release of Sukumar's Pushpa 2: The Rule, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma voiced his thoughts on the heated ticket price hike debate.
As the much-anticipated follow-up to Sukumar's blockbuster Pushpa: The Rise continues to track big booking numbers, irate Allu Arjun fans and film buffs have questioned the need for raising the prices to as much as Rs 2000 and above in some territories such as Delhi and Mumbai, where movie houses like PVR have fixed premium rates that a common man would find unfairly exorbitant.
However, Ram Gopal Varma has opted to defend these hikes on his official X handle through a long note. Citing the example of a man running an idli shop, the Satya and Rangeela filmmaker wrote that "if a man named Subbarao opens an idli hotel and charges Rs 1000 for a plate of idlis, it means that he believes Wadi idlis are superior to other idlis."
RGV added that if a customer doesn't find Subbarao's idlis worth paying that much and decides not to go to his hotel, the seller wouldn't get a profit. "If someone cries, 'Subbarao Idlis are not affordable for common man,' that is as silly as crying that the seven-star hotel is not affordable for the common man."
On the argument the people are paying for "the ambiance of a seven-star hotel", RGV makes the analogy that, in the case of Pushpa 2, the movie is of "seven-star quality," with the point, "Democratic capitalism works on the class difference aspect. Films, like all products, are made for profit; not for public service."
Pushpa 2: The Rule will pick up from the concluding events of Pushpa: The Rise. Allu Arjun plays the titular Pushpa Raj, a red sandalwood smuggler who eventually forms and controls an entire empire. The sequel also sees the return of Rashmika Mandanna as his wife Srivalli, and his battles with Fahadh Faasil's antagonist Bhanwar Singh Shekawat.
Meanwhile, fans have already started speculating on a possible third Pushpa film, its title, and cast members after renowned sound designer Resul Pookkutty shared a behind-the-scenes picture in which he and his crew members can be seen posing against a poster that says, 'Pushpa 3: The Rampage'. If it's true, the makers would likely announce it in the end credits of Pushpa 2.
