Happy Birthday Prabhas: Some lesser-known facts of 'Baahubali' star that'll surprise you

The term 'pan-India star' was perhaps not that known, but an actor who is often addressed with this title in recent years has been Prabhas. The star earned countrywide popularity through the grand success of the Baahubali franchise, and today, his movies are released not just in his native Telugu, but also in multiple other languages. Currently, some of the biggest films involving acclaimed directors, producers and Bollywood stars feature Prabhas in the lead. 

On his 42nd birthday, here's looking at some of the lesser-known facts about Prabhas.

10 unknown facts about Birthday Boy Prabhas

Early life, family: Prabhas' full name is Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju. His father Uppalapati Surya Narayana Raju was a producer and his uncle Krishnam Raju is an actor. He hails from Mogalthur in Andhra Pradesh.

Education: Prabhas completed his schooling from DNR School, Bhimavaram and was an engineering student at Sri Chaitanya College, Hyderabad.

Bollywood debut: Much before his 'pan-India' fame, Prabhas had made a cameo in a song in Action Jackson, alongside Sonakshi Sinha. 

Baahubali: In the six-year gap between Mirchi and Saaho, Prabhas did not take up any other venture and worked only on the Baahubali franchise. Among the rumours, is that he gained 20 kilos of pure muscle for the role, and the makers had also gifted him a gym worth Rs 1.5 crore for him to get into the desired shape for the role. It is also said that he did not charge a big amount for the venture. He is also set to build a volleyball court for his fitness.

Marriage: Though Prabhas has been romantically linked to his Baahubali co-star Anushka Shetty for many years, there have been other rumours related to his marriage. One is that he received 6000 marriage proposals at the time of Baahubali and he rejected them all. Another rumour that had gone viral a couple of years ago was that he was engaged to a 23-year-old Engineering student.

Advertisements: One might not have seen Prabhas in many advertisements apart from an automobile brand. The actor seems to not be too keen on it. Reports even claimed that he rejected brand endorsements to the tune of Rs 150 crore.

Starry 1sts: Prabhas is the first South Indian actor to have a Madame Tussauds statue. He is also the first South Indian actor to gross over Rs 1000 crore at the Indian box office.

Favourites: Prabhas is a big fan of director Rajkumar Hirani. He is said to have watched Munnabhai MBBS and 3 Idiots over 20 times. He is also a fan of Robert de Niro. His favourite film is his uncle Krinappa Raju's Bhakta Kannappa.

Food love : Prabhas reportedly wanted to be a hotelier if not for an actor. He is a foodie and his favourite food items are biryani and butter chicken. Biryani would also be his go-to cheat meal during the intense physical prep for Baahubali.

Recluse: Prabhas reportedly makes significant donations to charity, but never creates any publicity about it. He hardly posts anything on social media and most of his posts are news about his upcoming movies, like posters, first looks and trailers.