Prabhas is a box office 'Darling' for a reason. Not every day, movies grossing Rs 2000 crore are made in India (Baahubali: The Conclusion). Off late, the Telugu star's releases, namely Saaho and Radhe Shyam, have not worked at the ticket window. This has put him on the back foot and hungry for success. However, the producers' faith in him is unshakeable as he is the only legit pan-India star whose name guarantees returns. His upcoming movies have over Rs 1500 crore riding on him, and three of them, Adipurush, Salaar and Spirit, are straight pan-India releases. The stage is set as the audience awaits a big-screen spectacle from Prabhas, the undisputed box office king.
Prabhas' slow rise in the Telugu film industry
Starting his film journey in 2002 with Eeswar, Prabhas had a difficult time during the start of his career. At the time, Prabhas had moulded himself as per the expectations of the fans, He was doing masala action and romantic films, which were the norm in those days. The competition was immense from his contemporaries like Mahesh Babu, Pawan Kalyan, Jr NTR and Allu Arjun, who had tasted box office success with their initial releases.
Despite a couple of hits early on (Varsham and Chatrapathi), Prabhas was unable to find a firm footing and a string of flops nearly spelled doom for his career. Don remake Billa (2009) and Darling (2010) gave him some much-needed respite. With Mr Perfect and Mirchi releasing in the coming years, Prabhas showed producers that there was more to him than met the eye. He would then wholeheartedly immerse himself in SS Rajamouli's Baahubali franchise, which would be the turning point in his career.
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Global success with Baahubali franchise
Prabhas had invested in Baahubali franchise with his mentor Rajamouli, who gave him his career's much-needed hit early on. Together, the actor-director duo would script history for the Indian box office and make a lasting impression on world cinema. With Rajamouli's creative vision and the bulking presence of Prabhas, who had acquired a good fan base in the Southern states, Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) would give India a new vocabulary in cinema- pan-India films.
It became the second-highest grossing Indian film of all time and the highest grossing Indian film of all time within India. The Hindi dubbed version also broke several records. While charting box-office history of films, Baahubali: The Beginning will always find a mention.
In 2017, Baahubali: The Conclusion would further the success of the first installment. It became the biggest hit India would ever witness. It was made on an estimated budget of Rs 250 crore and earned over Rs 2000 crore at the worldwide box office. Now, as things stand, every release in India is chasing the success that the Baahubali franchise has achieved.
Prabhas' low phase
After Prabhas acquired pan-India attention with Baahubali, his next release was looking to make more inroads in the northern territory. Saaho (2019) was slick and full of action. To increase the appeal, it also had Shraddha Kapoor in it. However, the movie was an average success at best and left the fans of the actor disappointed. The Hindi version was a hit but that was not enough.
In 2021, Prabhas made a return to his lover-boy image with Radhe Shyam. The movie had a good budget and was shot internationally in many exotic locations. However, it kept getting delayed due to the pandemic and when it finally hit the big screens, it was a major disaster. Many Prabhas' fans also started questioning his pan-India move as his projects were becoming less and less relatable to the local Telugu audience.
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Rs 1500 crore riding on Prabhas
With the failure of Saaho and Radhe Shyam, many would run to write Prabhas off. However, this would not be the first time that such a thing would happen. The much-needed resurgence is waiting to happen and may not be very far off. Adipurush, made at an estimated budget of Rs 500 crore, is set to release on January 12 next year. It has been closely eyed by the fans and has all the ingredients of a blockbuster.
He would then be seen in Salaar, which is by KGF director Prashanth Neel. The sci-fi film Project K from Nag Ashwin is also filming. Both these projects have immense anticipation riding on them and the cast is huge. Not only are all his upcoming films in different genres, but they are also looking to push the envelope for filmmaking, each in their own way. After Baahubali's success, who is better than Prabhas to present a new style of films to the fans in India?
