Pushpa gone wrong: Inspired by Allu Arjun’s movie, Bengaluru man caught trying to smuggle red sandalwood

Allu Arjun’s Pushpa was one of the biggest releases since theaters reopened. The film broke pandemic box office records and its dialogues as well as songs were an instant hit. However, there have been some instances where fans inspired by the film’s plot have tried to ape the actor in real life.

Recently, a man trying to smuggle red sandalwood from the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border to Maharashtra was caught by Bengaluru police. In the film, the protagonist does the same and slips right past the police’s radar by stacking the sandalwood in trucks and then filling them with milk. 

The real life Pushpa tried the same trick, by keeping the wood at the bottom of his truck, followed by fruits and vegetable boxes and a sticker on his truck that claimed he was transporting COVID essential items. 

Reports suggest that the police seized Rs 2.45 crore worth of red sandalwood along with his truck worth Rs 10 lakh. 

In January, three teenagers inspired by Pushpa and Bhaukaal were arrested for stabbing a 24-year-old man in Delhi. According to NDTV, the trio recorded the entire incident on a mobile phone and intended to upload it online to become famous. 

Pushpa: The Rise, written and directed by Sukumar, also stars Fahadh Faasil in his Telugu debut and Rashmika Mandanna in the lead. Jagadeesh Prathap Bandari, Sunil, Rao Ramesh, Dhananjaya, Anasuya Bharadwaj, Ajay and Ajay Ghosh feature in supporting roles. 

Pushpa: The Rise follows Pushpa Raj, a woodcutter turned small-time smuggler of red sandalwood and his rise to power. Turning himself into one of the big players of the sandalwood smuggling mafia, the movie has a number of scenes where Allu Arjun as Pushpa smuggles red sandalwood. 

Pushpa: The Rise, the first of two cinematic parts, is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in multiple languages. 

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