Prabhas Birthday: How Kalki 2898 AD Star Conquered Hindi Box Office When No Other South Star Could

Prabhas Birthday: Baahubali actor Prabhas turned 45 on October 23. A box office force to be reckoned with, the pan-India star has made a unique space for himself in India and internationally, with unparalleled fandom riding behind his unique success story. A Prabhas movie guarantees box office returns so much so that projects unimagined in Indian cinema are being bankrolled with him as the leading face—Kalki 2898 AD being the latest example.

In a career spanning a little over two decades, Prabhas has achieved a feat that no other South star before him could. He has captured the Hindi market, with his movies working at the ticket window outside his home state, thus earning him the title of true blue pan-India star.

Baahubali: The pan-India term is coined

With the release of Baahubali (2015), Prabhas catapulted to nationwide fame. SS Rajamouli's magnum opus was marketed as the movie that would shape the future of Indian cinema, and it truly did. It's storytelling and cutting-edge VFX aside, Prabhas became a pull for the audiences. While the viewership of movies featuring South stars was already in vogue in the Hindi-speaking belts, thanks to satellite TV and dubbed versions of feature films streaming on YouTube, Prabhas and Rajamouli brought the masses to the big screens to watch a South cinema spectacle. Baahubali did exceptional business in Rajasthan , Mumbai, UP, Delhi, Bihar and Punjab , proving that movies can supersede the language barrier.

Baahubali 2 (2017) was an even bigger success, an unprecedented feat. It collected ₹41 crore on its opening day in Hindi and ₹247 crore in the first week. Its lifetime collection in Hindi stands at ₹510.99 crore, a figure only Yash starrer KGF 2 has surpassed (for a South film). The footfalls in the Hindi markets remain untouched even today.

The aftermath of Baahubali

After SS Rajamouli's 2-part action franchise made Prabhas a known face in India, Telugu makers marketed their films in the North aggressively, often roping in a known Bollywood actress opposite the Rebel star. Saaho (2019) followed the success of Baahubali and collected ₹24.40 crore on its opening day in Hindi. Despite mixed reviews, the film, co-starring Shraddha Kapoor, minted ₹145.67 crore out of its ₹310 crore business in India in Hindi alone.

Adipurush (2023) registered an even bigger opening in Hindi, with ₹37.25 crore collection. Despite being a flop, the film became Prabhas ' co-stars Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan's biggest box office grosser.

Cementing stardom with Salaar and Kalki 2898 AD

Despite Adipurush being a flop and receiving bad reviews, Prabhas ' box office pull remained unaffected in the North markets. Salaar, an action-packed, gritty drama directed by Prashanth Neel, minted over ₹15 crore on day 1. Its business in Hindi was affected by the release of Dunki. Despite a clash with a Bollywood biggie, Salaar collected over ₹150 crore in Hindi, becoming a success.

The success continued with Kalki 2898 AD. Prabhas ' latest did more business in Hindi than Telugu and is currently the biggest box office hit of 2024. While South megastars like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Nagarjuna and Ravi Teja, to name a few, have been around for decades, they have not managed to penetrate the Hindi market like Prabhas . 

Even the new crop of actors like Thalapathy Vijay, Ram Charan and Jr NTR have struggled to find their audience, while 'Darling' remains perched on the top slot. 

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