‘Full chapri’: Pushpa 2 song’s questionable choreo sparks North-South debate

We’re exactly 3 days away from experiencing the reign of Pushparaj on the silver screen. Easily among the most-awaited films of 2024, not just this year, but for years in the making, Pushpa 2: The Rule is set for a release on December 5. After long periods of silence and many a delay, fans of Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna can rejoice in the sea of big drops being shared by the makers. Sreeleela’s Kissik failed to make the mark — which is probably what prompted the big Peelings release.
Speaking of the song of the hour, it’s tough to come up with words to articulate what you will feel the first time you watch the video. The song is massy and upbeat, with good potential to top charts. But the choreography — oh, the choreography. Polarising doesn’t even begin to cut, the very, out-there moves the song carries. Allu Arjun and Rashmika to their credit, completely commit to it. But the song appears to have brought the whole North versus South debate out of its temporary retirement.
But first, the choreography. The work of choreographer Sekhar Vulli Vj, there is no mention of Pushpa and Srivalli’s chemistry in all the internet conjecture. The steps completely take over, and how could they not. A general consensus of comments read: “How ? Just how did someone okay this!”, “this is making me so uncomfortable eww”, “bro this is embarrasing to even watch”, “These days choreography has become like a soft porn don’t understand why actress say yes to do this”, “Allu arjun is such a good dancer yaar why do they have to do this?” and “Full chapri shit”.
But of course, the conversation across comment sections descended into how much ‘vulgarity’ is entertained is South cinema versus Bollywood. Commenting on the stereotype of South dance numbers, some opinions read: “People call out bollywood vulgar songs, bhojpuri vulgar songs but rarely the south indian ones. They preach abt their culture yet make such crass songs but their rabid fan network is so strong that any opinion against them will get massively down voted. Nobody speaks abt the truth of tollywood” and “Why every south song , have some vulgar dance steps .. and hideous outfits”. Others countered with comments like, “Kiara’s bijlee bijlee song, Nora Fatehi’s most of the item songs, and Tamannah’s Aaj ki raat song and counting are also examples of vulgar dance steps in Bollywood as well. It’s not just about South songs” and “Please take a look at some ‘north Indian’ item songs also before generalizing. Malaika and Katrina haven’t made millions for their acting chops”.
So, bop or flop — what’s your take on Peelings?