Prabhas on the Baahubali phenomenon, taking a pay-cut for his next action-thriller and why the post-production delays were justified
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 15, 2019)

It’s a scene straight out of a Hindi film. The hero and heroine slip out of a suburban theatre, skip into their getaway vehicle, and zoom off. The waiting media is caught unawares, losing precious minutes in finding transport before they can give chase. And just when they are closing in, Mumbai’s notorious traffic jams play spoilsport, allowing Saaho’s leads, Shraddha Kapoor and Prabhas, enough time to grab a bite before they face the firing squad to talk about their upcoming action-thriller.

“How soon can you get here, there’s no one to interview him?” the panicked publicist hollers. Equally panicked, one leaps into an autorickshaw and, wending through narrow by-lanes to arrive at the Juhu five-star, only to discover that the duo has already been cornered by a TV channel.

An hour later, one is sitting opposite the Baahubali, who is tall, strong and innocuous. He confides that as a kid, he had felt intimidated by the crowds and the lights when he visited the sets of his uncle’s (actor Upppalapati Krishnam Raju) films. “My uncle was strong... superb... but I knew this was not for me. However, as I grew up, I was drawn to this world thanks to people like Bapu who directed our home production, Bhakta Kannappa. When I was 18-19, I asked myself, ‘Can I be an actor?’ Since the idea no longer felt alien, I took it to my father (producer Suryanarayana Raju U), quit B.Com in the second year, and joined films,” Prabhas reminisces.

Starting with Eeshwar in 2002, the actor has featured in 25 films so far, the biggest being S S Rajamouli’s epic adventure, Baahubali: The Beginning in 2015, followed by Baahubali: The Conclusion two years later, which made him not just a pan-India hero but also found him a fan base in Japan—admirers from the Land of the Rising Sun are found dancing outside his house today. Prabhas acknowledges that the team was confident about the film’s prospects in Telugu and Tamil, but the phenomenal response to the period war-drama in Mumbai and up North shocked even them. “I am still wondering if it (franchise) really happened, it’s surreal. A few months ago, Karthikeya, Rajamouli’s son and a friend, called to inform that Skyfall, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Baahubali 1 and 2 will be screened at London’s Royal Albert Hall in October in the ‘10 Years of Films in Concert’ series with live orchestra. Excited, I told him I want to be there too, feel a part of the magnum opus again,” he says.

Prabhas admits that while he doesn’t usually like being disturbed during a movie, he has watched some big films, including his own, alongside cheering fans, and in the case of Baahubali, it was an learning experience. “I was watching their reactions to see if they were connecting with a certain expression of mine or a shot Rajamouli had suggested. What was working? What wasn’t? Of course, eventually, it’s not about action or actors, the visuals or even the format, but eventually it is the script that works,” he explains. The actor, as part of Saaho’s prep, watched films with great screenplays on his director Sujeeth’s suggestion, including several Guy Ritchie films, Kevin Spacey’s Usual Suspects and Brad Pitt’s Seven.

Baahubali still plays on the mind. Which of the two parts was more difficult? “The Beginning, since the budget was so huge, and we weren’t sure of its reception up North. Even the second part exceeded our expectations,” he says. As an actor, which role was tougher? “I loved the challenge of the father’s. Shivudu was more casual, a destiny’s child, but Amarendra was a more designed character with depth in the way he looked, thought and spoke.”

Did Amarendra remind him of his own father? “I’ve never thought that way but with a beard, I look like my father sometimes. It feels good to look into the mirror and see his face,” Prabhas smiles. And what has been his family’s reaction to his Baahubali blockbusters? “They are shocked, and thrilled. My mother (Siva Kumari) told me I had to remain cool, not let success go to my head. Two years later, I asked her if I had changed, she shook her head but reiterated I should be careful. You know what mothers are like!” he laughs indulgently.

Saaho is the way forward now. Wouldn’t Independence Day have been a better release day for this lavishly-mounted action spectacle? Prabhas admits that they are disappointed that delay in post-production forced them to push the release to August 30. “But everyone has worked hard on the film for two years, the director for three. We could have earned so much more if we’d released it soon after Baahubali 2, but the idea was to make a quality film without compromising on time and money. I have to add that Bhushan (Kumar, producer) helped us make Saaho bigger and better. After so much effort, we could wait 15 days more if it meant we got to see the film without feeling disappointed on any level,” he reasons.

Tell him that buzz is, he’s been paid Rs 100 crore for the film and he chuckles, saying, “Baahubali has set the bar high, but Saaho was a Rs 250 crore film, so I knew I couldn’t charge my usual remuneration. I started out with a 20 per cent cut. Then, the film went slightly over and though my friends were ready to pay up, I couldn’t take their money knowing they were putting in so much without thinking of what they’d earn.”

Another rumour doing the rounds is that he will be tying the knot with Anushka Shetty after Saaho’s release. There’s also talk of them buying a love nest in Los Angeles. For the first time, you see a flicker of exasperation, “Anushka and I are very good friends but if there was something more, wouldn’t someone have spotted us together in the last two years? The question was posed to me on Karan Johar’s show too. I let Rajamouli and Rana (Daggubati, Baahubali co-star) answer it and even they stated that there was nothing between us. It wasn’t as if I had prepared them,” Prabhas states.

Has Rajamouli offered him another film? He shares that it’s only RRR for the director for now as he only focuses on one project at a time. For him, it’s an untitled love story he had committed to long ago and shot for just 20 days last year because of Saaho. “The director’s been waiting a long time,” he sighs.

When asked if he has noticed any changes in himself during his journey from shy guy to superstar, he mulls over the question and goes on to admit that he is exposed to different cinemas now, from Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada to Punjabi and Hindi. But he doesn’t see them as different film industries. “Irrespective of the language, I have to do my job well otherwise even in the Telugu film industry no one will want me,” he points out.

Prabhudheva drops by to meet him. Is a collaboration cooking? Prabhas chuckles, “Nothing at the moment, he’s been a friend for 15 years.” The Indian Jackson had got his actor-friend to do a special appearance in the Ajay Devgn-starrer, Action Jackson. “Yes, but I never saw the film,” Prabhas reveals, admitting that he hasn’t seen Baaghi either, which was reportedly inspired by his Varsham. But he has seen and loved Dangal. “What an inspiring story!” he exclaims. Can he see himself doing a remake of the wrestling drama? Baahubali shrugs, “I don’t know if I can carry it off. Aamir (Khan) was superb!”

He may be making his Hindi debut, but Mumbai has always been a familiar city for the actor, as he frequently visits friends here. “And I can read and write Hindi too,” he reveals, and noting the surprise on your face, admits that his ‘master’ on Saaho was surprised too. “Earlier, I wasn’t comfortable with the press interviews here, but this one wasn’t difficult,” Prabhas smiles as he rushes off to meet Prabhudheva who is waiting in his suite.


Prabhas and Anushka Shetty in the 2013 film Mirchi