Happy Birthday Prabhas: Why does Salaar actor still remains a director’s top choice after box office failures?

There’s a reason why Prabhas is a box office favourite. The Telugu actor’s recent movies, Saaho and Radhe Shyam, have not been well-received at the box office which is making his ground very shaky. The producers, however, have not lost faith in him. The audience is keenly waiting for a big-screen extravaganza from the undeniable box office king, Prabhas.

Also Read: Shah Rukh Khan's Dunki not being postponed, set to take on Prabhas starrer Salaar at box office 

Along with his mentor Rajamouli, who provided him with the much-needed boost to his career early on, Prabhas had invested in the Baahubali series. Together, the actor-director duo changed the course of Indian box office history and left a significant mark. It went on to become the highest grossing Indian movie ever made in India as well as the second-highest grossing Indian movie ever made worldwide. Several records were also broken by the Hindi-dubbed version. Film box office history charts invariably include a mention to Baahubali: The Beginning. The first installment’s success was furthered in 2017 with Baahubali: The Conclusion. It turned into the biggest hit India had ever seen. With a global box office collection of over Rs 2000 crore, the film was produced on an approximate budget of Rs 250 crore.

Also Read: 'King se panga': Prabhas gets trolled for Salaar box office clash with Shah Rukh Khan's Dunki 

After Baahubali garnered Prabhas' attention across all of India, his subsequent film sought to expand upon that success in the north. The 2019 film Saaho was polished and action-packed. It also starred Shraddha Kapoor, which helped to make it more appealing. However, the film only achieved mediocre success, which disappointed the actor’s supporters. The Hindi version was a hit but it failed to make a mark overall.

With Radhe Shyam, Prabhas reclaimed his lover-boy persona in 2021. The film had a good budget and was filmed in many exotic countries. However, the pandemic kept pushing back its release date, and when it did, it was a huge failure. As Prabhas’ projects lost more and more of their relevance to the local Telugu audience, many of his fans began to question his decision to go pan-Indian. Even the most talked-about movie, Adipurush, received overwhelmingly poor reviews from viewers who criticized it for misrepresenting the epic Ramayana. Adipurush, starring Prabhas and Kriti Sanon, had a phenomenal first week of box office results. However, since then, the movie's box office receipts have been steadily declining. It is safe to say that negative word of mouth contributed to the movie's collapse in its second week.

With Saaho, Adipurush and Radhe Shyam failing, many people would rush to dismiss Prabhas. However, it wouldn’t be the first time that something like this had occurred. The long-overdue revival is poised to take place and might not be too far off. Now there’s a Bollywood clash waiting to happen, with Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Dunki’ and Prabhas’ ‘Salaar’ both set to hit the screens around the same time and it will be interesting to see if Prabhas will be able to redeem himself at the box office. Do share your thoughts with us in the comment section.