From Darling to Ram with a Six-Pack: Prabhas’ Search for Pan-Indian Stardom

At the end of the Hindu epic Ramayana, Hanuman, Ram’s loyal devotee, discovers that there is a multiverse of Rams and Hanumans, and that each treta yuga has its own Ramayana. The same can be said of interpretations and representations of the timeless story across decades and languages in Indian cinema. The latest in line is Om Raut’s upcoming Adipurush which was shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu, and will release this week. In a departure from the blue-skinned, clean-shaven Ram of earlier cinema and TV serials, Adipurush features an older, brawny, moustachioed hero – Prabhas, who shot to national fame with SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali films.

Made on a budget of Rs 500 crore, there’s a lot riding on Adipurush for the star. He may have had mega releases like the action thriller Saaho (2019) and the romantic drama Radhe Shyam (2022) – both made on budgets estimated to be between Rs. 300 and Rs. 350 crores – after Baahubali, but neither film was successful at the box office. If he must retain his image as a pan-Indian star, Prabhas desperately needs a blockbuster. 

Before Prabhas’s films became Baahubalian, from the budget to the nature of storytelling, he was Telugu cinema’s Mr Nice Guy. Film critic Sankeertana Varma said the romantic action film Varsham (2004), in which Prabhas co-starred with Trisha, was the first blockbuster of his career, but that it was Rajamouli’s Chatrapathi (2005) that established him as a bonafide action star. In Chatrapathi, Prabhas plays an Angry Young Man who stands up against injustice even as he searches for his lost mother. He also battles a shark in a legendary encounter that would put Jaws (1975) to shame. 

“Despite this image of toughness that he constantly portrays well on screen, his personality is rather affable. Even after the mega success that came his way, he still comes across as down-to-earth,” noted Varma. She believes fans and filmmakers find Prabhas’s easygoing personality to be refreshing in an industry filled with star egos. 

Prabhas belongs to the Kshatriya Raju caste, and like the other Telugu superstars, he too has fan associations that are caste-driven. He’s often hailed for his “royal looks”, particularly after Baahubali where he plays a righteous Kshatriya king. But beyond this rallying behind caste pride, there exists a flourishing fandom for Prabhas in the Telugu states. “He is liked by almost all the other stars’ fandoms. His agreeable and soft-spoken nature makes him easy to like,” said Varma. He also has a significant following of female fans. 

Still, for an actor who made his debut more than 20 years ago, Prabhas has only a handful of hits to his name. Nandi Award winning film critic and journalist Rentala Jayadeva said Prabhas – who is the son of producer Uppalapati Surya Narayana Raju and the nephew of actor Krishnam Raju – has never been great at choosing scripts, and that his films after Baahubali also demonstrate this lack of discretion. 

“He’s not a good planner. His first film Eeswar (2002) was a flop, and it’s only Varsham, Chatrapathi, Darling (2010), Mr Perfect (2011), Mirchi (2013) and the Baahubali films that were major hits. In such a long career, he has done only 20-odd films,” said Jayadeva, adding that Baahubali was a huge push forward for Prabhas’s career. But the scale of the Rajamouli films and their unprecedented success came with their own challenges for the star. He became massively popular across the country, particularly in the Hindi belt where no southern male actor before this had achieved such widespread fame and recognition. 

Subsequently, the films that were made after Baahubali succumbed to the pressure of having to cater to a pan-Indian audience. The romantic drama Radhe Shyam, for instance, was originally supposed to have been set in a hilltown in India, but the project was upscaled and moved to Europe. Director Radha Krishna Kumar said that it was a “collaborative call” to change the script. “We all got excited about presenting vintage Europe,” he said. “Radhe Shyam became what it was meant to become. That was its destiny and it was a learning experience for all of us.”

In Radhe Shyam, Prabhas plays a palmist who falls in love with a woman with a fatal disease (Pooja Hegde). Despite its extravagant canvas, the film drew a lukewarm response. According to Kumar, the vision for Radhe Shyam was simple but it did not translate well due to prolonged COVID lockdown delays. “We all thought of Radhe Shyam as an experiment. I don’t regret the process or the result. Prabhas is like a child who surrenders to the director. If the movie works, he gives the credit to the director.  If it doesn’t, he takes the blame. That’s how he is,” said Kumar. 

While signing Adipurush, which also stars Saif Ali Khan and Kriti Sanon, Prabhas was likely hoping for another pan-Indian hit. However, the teaser of the film, which came out in October 2022, was heavily criticised for its poor visual effects. So much so that the release was delayed and an additional Rs. 100 crore is said to have been spent on improving the visuals before the new release date. 

Jayadeva observed that in recent years, Hindi film audiences have backed films that brandish a Hindu majoritarian view while Telugu audiences in contrast have veered towards what he described as “soft Hindutva” films like Akhanda (2021), Karthikeya 2 (2022) and Bimbisara (2022). “The makers of Adipurush did pre-release events in Ayodhya and Tirupati. They also announced that they’ll be leaving a seat empty for Hanuman in theatres. Such gimmicks are to capitalise on the atmosphere of saffronisation that exists in the country,” said the journalist. 

However, Jayadeva is not sure whether Adipurush will appeal to Telugu audiences. “There is a buzz around the film because of the promotions. Mythology is very popular with the Telugu audience, and superstars like ANR (Akkineni Nageswara Rao) and NTR (NT Rama Rao) have played these roles with costumes and styles of that era. But this is Ram with a six-pack and we have to see how it will fare,” said Jayadeva with a laugh. 

When a film depends heavily on graphics to see it through, the audience now holds it to a high standard. “We are used to Rajamouli’s Baahubali kind of graphics and war scenes. It is quite difficult to impress the audience with the Ramayana war scenes in Adipurush,” said Jayadeva. “In a sense, it’s interesting to note that both Rajamouli and Baahubali have become natural opponents to Prabhas and Adipurush. The film is neither fully animated nor a regular feature film, and this may become a minus point, too.”

There are reports that the Telugu version of Adipurush is facing difficulties finding distributors for the asking price. People’s Media Factory bought the theatrical rights for the Telugu version for an estimated Rs. 160 crore, but the website Track Tollywood reported that top distributor Dil Raju decided to opt out of distributing the film at the demanded price.

After Adipurush, Prabhas’s next release will be Salaar, directed by Prashanth Neel of KGF (2018, 2022) fame. Producer Vijay Kirgandur of Hombale Films is unfazed by Prabhas’s lack of a hit after Baahubali. Acknowledging that achieving success across different regions and languages is challenging, Kirgandur said, “An actor's career is a long-term journey and consistency in delivering quality performances and maintaining a loyal fan base is equally important. Prabhas's popularity and fan following continue to remain strong, indicating that he has successfully sustained his stardom despite not having a massive hit post Baahubali.”

The producer knows a thing or two about delivering pan-Indian hits. Other than the KGF films, the blockbuster Kannada action thriller Kantara (2022) is also from his stable. Meeting audience expectations with Salaar, where Prabhas supposedly plays a very violent man, isn’t going to be simple. Kirgandur said it’s essential to leverage star power, but to strike a chord, a film needs well-rounded and relatable characters that serve the narrative. He stressed the importance of working with the director and screenwriters to ensure the star’s character has depth, complexity and an integral role that drives the story forward.

“Effective planning, execution, and collaboration between the star, the production house and the director are crucial to navigate the pressures and maximise the film's potential,” said Kirgandur, noting that fans are emotionally invested in the star's career and eagerly anticipate each new release. “That's why it's on us and the director Prashanth Neel to ensure that the film meets the expectations of the passionate fans, who can be vocal and influential in shaping the film's reception and overall success,” he added. 

But can Prabhas do a ‘regular’ film after this? A film with a modest budget where he’s playing an ordinary guy? Or has his stardom become an albatross around his neck, a relentless image trap where he can only do big, bigger and biggest films? Sankeertana Varma said that like most filmmakers chasing the Baahubali dream, Prabhas too seems to confuse scale with good storytelling. 

“Huge budgets and technological gimmicks as smoke and mirrors cannot sustain a whole film. Prabhas has also gotten stiffer with time. The bundle of energy you see in Pournami (2006) and Chakram (2005), or the idiot savant from Puri Jagannadh's films is long gone,” she said. Calling his fans in the Telugu states as his bedrock, Varma made a case for Prabhas doing films that appeal to them rather than signing one ‘pan-Indian’ film after another. “If he doesn't focus his lens on his fans back home in some capacity, things might start to wobble. Yes, Baahubali made him the star he is today, but, speaking as a dormant fan, his goofiness is his charm,” she said. That’s the ‘darling’ purush the Telugu audience fell in love with and dearly wants back.