After Adipurush, does Prabhas need to exercise caution while selecting films?

Prabhas, one of Telugu cinema’s biggest action heroes, emerged as a pan-India star with Baahubali 2 (2017). period drama received rave reviews from most critics and set box office on fire. Prabhas’ subsequent releases Saaho (2019), Rhe Shyam (2022) and ipurush (2023), however, did t live up to standards set by SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus.

This has led to a perception that star, who will next be seen in Salaar, needs to exercise caution while selecting films. So, is this point of view justified? answer is a simple one.

3 thing you need to kw

• Prabhas was last seen in ipurush.
• teaser of his next film Salaar will be released on Thursday, July 6. 
• Prabhas has been a pan-India star since Baahubali 2. 

It's all about money

It would have me absolute sense to dissect Prabhas’ choices h y affected his stardom. This, luckily, is t case. One got strong proof of his ability to pull a crowd to atres when ipurush grossed an astonishing Rs 140 crore at worldwide box office despite fact that that it came after Rhe Shyam and Saaho.

(A still from Saaho | Im: UV Creations/Twitter)

Darling actor’s stardom also helped it hold over weekend despite negative word of mouth and controversies around film. Similarly, Salaar remains one of most talked about films of year despite underwhelming critical response to ipurush. 

Should Prabhas opt for better scripts?

star vehicle has been pillar of commercial cinema since deces. For those t familiar with term, it refers to a form of storytelling in which pretty much everything serves sole purpose of building an aura around ‘hero’. Zanjeer (1971), Bobbili Puli (1982) and Baashha (1995) are examples of this ‘genre’  across different deces and langus. While Prabhas’ last three films have received mixed reviews, fact remains that y worked well as star vehicles.

(Prabhas' last three releases were 'star vehicles' | Credit: Republic)

Take Saaho for instance. Sujeeth directorial featured everything right from punchlines and action sequences that tried to utilise Prabhas’ stardom. This helped it cater to ‘die-hard fans’. same applies to Rhe Shyam and Saaho. Since star power and t content is defining characteristic of this brand of storytelling, whole discussion around quality of script in question does t serve a purpose.

He isn’t in an im trap

Mass heroes often fall victim to what is called ‘im trap’ and end up playing same character over and over again. Even legendary Amitabh Bachchan is t an exception to this. He essentially played ‘angry young man’ in films such as Zanjeer, Deewaar and Trishul. Prabhas, despite criticism coming his way, has consciously tried to experiment with his im by dabbling in different genres.

(Prabhas played Lord Ram in ipurush (Im: Prabhas/Instagram)

Saaho was an action-thriller while Rhe Shyam was a romantic drama. ipurush, meanwhile, was a mythological drama based on Ramayana. Clearly trying something new within confines of commercial cinema can hardly be called wrong. 

Putting stardom to use

Prabhas is using his post-Baahubali stardom to open new avenues for up and coming filmmakers. Saaho helped Sujeeth, who h previously helmed Run Raja Run, go pan-India. film, irrespective of its fate, indirectly helped him bag Pawan Kalyan-led OG. Similarly, Rhe Shyam and ipurush helped Rha Krishna Kumar and Om Raut, respectively, scale new heights. 

Prabhas vs who?

biggest fact in favour of Prabhas’ strategy is virtual lack of competition. In some ways, he is only actor, among his contemporaries, to do multiple pan-India films back to back. fact that y opened well furr consolidated his standing. While it is true that ors actors too have given pan-India a shot, reality remains that y have a long way to go before y can measure upto Prabhas on this front. 

actor, meanwhile, will be hoping to consolidate his standing furr with Salaar. film’s teaser will be released on Thursday, July 6. It is directed by KGF helmer Prashanth Neel and will open in atres on September 28.