Manoj Bajpayee has been approached for a role in the second part of Allu Arjun-starrer Pushpa. Manoj had earlier said that every frame in 'Pushpa: The Rise' has been shot as if it's a matter of life and death.The film, written and directed by Sukumar and produced by Mythri Movie Makers and Muttamsetty Media, told the story of its titular character Pushparaj of his rise to become a sandalwood smuggler and his personal trauma.
The Telugu action drama marked the debut of the noted Malayalam and Tamil actor, Fahadh Faasil in Telugu cinema. He played the character of a corrupt cop, who will lock horns with Allu's lead character in the film's second part 'Pushpa: The Rule'. Fahadh also spilled beans recently when he told 'The Cue' that the film might see a potential third part as the makers have enough material. Pushpa: The Rise was released on 17 December 2021 in Telugu along with dubbed versions in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi languages. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics with praise for Allu Arjun's performance and characterisation, action sequences, direction and score but criticised the runtime. The Rise is commercially successful, grossing ₹365 crore (US$48 million) crore at the box office. The film emerged as the highest-grossing Indian film in 2021, and ranks among the highest-grossing Telugu films of all time.