Move over, Allu Arjun. The andhra pradesh government is serving up its own real-life blockbuster—complete with smuggling kingpins, midnight operations, and a task force that takes its cues from pushpa Raj himself. Except this time, the sandalwood smugglers don’t get a swag-filled song and dance number; they get combing operations and a one-way ticket to jail.

If pushpa Raj was all about defying the odds, it seems like chief minister Chandrababu Naidu and his government are the perfect anti-heroes to this plot twist. Naidu didn’t just stop at applauding the task force—he outright declared war on the smuggling racket. “Zero tolerance,” he said, as if auditioning for a cameo in the sequel, Pushpa 2: The Politician Strikes Back.

The action scenes here are just as cinematic. In Gujarat, an elaborate police operation led to the capture of red sandalwood worth ₹5 crore. Not to be outdone, the tirupati red Sanders Task Force went on its own smuggling-busting spree and seized another ₹3.5 crore worth of logs. The smugglers must be cursing their stars for not having sukumar to direct their heists.

The script took an unexpected twist when none other than deputy cm and forestry minister pawan kalyan decided to channel his own tollywood charisma. While pushpa Raj might have lit up the silver screen, pawan kalyan is allegedly lighting up forest ranges with relentless combing operations. Surely, he could’ve thrown in a punch dialogue or two—something like, “Smugglers, ee vanallo neeku avakasam ledu” (Smugglers, you have no chance in this forest).

And let’s not forget, this is all happening under the watchful eye of the nda government, which has now officially entered the anti-smuggling arena with a tagline that feels borrowed straight from the Pushpa franchise: “Thaggedhe Le!” One wonders if they’ll trademark it before sukumar gets the chance.

With all this drama, the smugglers themselves have a thankless role in this saga. No heroism, no slow-motion walks, and definitely no Oo Antava background score. Just police checkpoints, confiscated logs, and probably a few handcuffs. Not quite the red carpet they imagined when they entered the lucrative but illegal world of red sanders.

The government, it seems, is more than happy to play the antagonist in this tale. With their relentless pursuit of the so-called “real-life Pushpas,” they’ve made it clear: this isn’t Tollywood. It’s andhra pradesh, and here, the smuggling stops when the credits roll. Or, at least, that’s what cm Naidu hopes.

So, to all the wannabe Pushpas out there: the forest is no longer your kingdom, and there’s no Allu Arjun-style redemption arc waiting for you. The government has spoken. Thaggedhe Le.