Pushpa 2 The Rule ticket price hike defended by Ram Gopal Varma

Sukumar’s Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna and Fahadh Faasil-starrer Pushpa 2: The Rule will have its premieres on December 4 evening. The film’s producers opted to hike the ticket prices, priced at over ₹2000 in some theatres in Delhi and Mumbai. While the decision drew flak, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma defended the move. (Also Read: Pushpa 2 The Rule review and release live updates)
RGV penned a long note in Telugu on X (formerly Twitter), criticising people in his trademark style for ‘crying’ about the hiked ticket prices. He also drew parallels between the entertainment industry and the luxury market.
He wrote, “One man named Subbarao set up an idli hotel and charged ₹1000 per plate. This is because Subbarao believes his idlis are superior to other idlis. But, if the customer doesn’t find Subbarao’s idlis worth it, they won’t go to his hotel. Subbarao is the only one to lose in this scenario.”
RGV also said that people who cry that ‘Subbarao’s idlis are not affordable to the common man’ are ‘silly’ because it’s like saying a ‘seven-star hotel is not affordable to the common man’. “If it is argued that you are paying for the ambience of a seven-star hotel, then in the case of Pushpa 2, the seven-star quality is the movie,” he added.
He also stated that ‘democratic capitalism works on class differences’ and that films are made for ‘profit and not for public service’. “When no one cries over the prices of luxury cars, buildings and branded clothes, why cry over movie tickets? Is entertainment essential? Is it more essential than housing, food and clothing?” he questioned, adding, “Compared to the prices of those necessities, the ticket price of Pushpa 2 is low.”
He also pointed out that people could choose not to watch the film or watch it when the ticket rates decrease. Instead, he said there’s irony in how tickets are sold out. “Let’s come back to Subbarao’s hotel. The price of the idli has clearly worked. The proof is in the fact that even Subbarao can’t find a place to sit in the hotel—all the seats are booked!”
Much like RGV pointed out, the team of Pushpa 2: The Rule announced the film had crossed the ₹100 crore mark in advance booking worldwide, making $ 2.5 million in pre-sales in the US alone. Pushpa 2: The Rule is a sequel to Sukumar’s 2021 film Pushpa: The Rise. The film will tell the story of a red sanders smuggler, Pushpa Raj, played by Arjun. Rashmika and Fahadh play his wife, Srivalli, and arch nemesis, Bhanwar Singh Shekawat.