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Post the gigantic success of the Baahubali series, Prabhas became a synonym for big-budget, extravagant movies. Irrespective of the final result, all of his films over the last ten years have been made to give the audience a big, big-screen spectacle. After giving two back-to-back blockbusters with ‘Salaar’ and ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, he teamed up with the director, Maruthi, for ‘The Raja Saab’, a romantic horror comedy turned into a romantic horror fantasy film.

Maruthi created a sensation in 2013 with a horror comedy film titled ‘Prema Katha Chitram’. Although he did not direct ‘Prema Katha Chitram’, he stole the show with his writing and his trademark comedy. When a film was announced in the combination of Prabhas and Maruthi, most people thought it was a wrong decision by Prabhas but a certain section of people believed that Maruthi would come up with a good entertaining film. After being in writing and production for around three years, the film was finally released in theatres today. Did Prabhas complete a hat-trick, after two hugely successful films, ‘Salaar’ and ‘Kalki 2898 AD’? Did Maruthi come up with an entertaining film and prove his naysayers wrong? How did Thaman score music for the first time for Prabhas? Did the three actresses, Malavika Mohanan, Nidhhi Agerwal & Riddhi Kumar, get substantial roles in the film? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Gangamma(Zarina Wahab), lives with her grandson, Raja Saab(Prabhas). Although she ends up forgetting most of the things due to Alzheimer’s, the one person she never forgets to think of is her long-lost husband, Kanakaraju(Sanjay Dutt). On one fine day, Raju, gets to know that, Kanakaraju, is living in Hyderabad. He decides to visit Hyderabad, meet his grandfather, and reunite his grandfather with his grandmother. What challenges does Raja Saab, face in Hyderabad? What is his relationship with Bhairavi(Malavika Mohanan)? What is the backstory of Bhairavi and her grandfather (Samuthirakani)? Why did Kanakaraju, leave, (Gangamma)? How did Ganga Devi, a princess end up becoming Gangamma, a poor woman? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Prabhas’ comedy timing in a couple of sequences was good and he did a good job with his performance in an emotional sequence in the second half. However, there were a lot of inconsistencies in his looks and also, he looked out of place and uninspired at most places throughout the film. Not sure if the idea to shoot even the simplest of the sequences also in a green mat, is the director’s or hero’s but the decision misfired big-time.

Sanjay Dutt, got a lengthy role and did a decent job with his performance. Samuthirakani, made his presence felt in a crucial role but his old get-up looked very odd. Senior actress, Zarina Wahab, in the role of the grandmother suffering from Alzheimer’s, did well. Her performance during the climax is very good. However, due to the outdated writing for her character, most of the time, her performance appeared melodramatic. Boman Irani was just ok with his performance. An actor of his calibre was wasted in a not-so-well-written role.

Malavika Mohanan, Nidhhi Agerwal & Riddhi Kumar, the film had three actresses but none of them were able to deliver an engaging performance. But, there’s not much they can do in poorly written roles that are used only as eye candy. At least, Malavika Mohanan, got an action sequence but the other two actresses, added no value to the film.

VTV Ganesh was wasted in a poorly written role. The comedian trio, Satya, Prabhas Sreenu, and Saptagiri, did a good job in their respective roles. In a film which has one of India’s biggest stars and many notable actors, it is only a few sequences with the comedian trio, that were engaging and entertaining to an extent.