Prabhas Has Stamina To Halt Dhurandhar Rampage, Says Hemanth Madhukar

With Bollywood star Ranveer Singh riding high on the blockbuster success of Dhurandhar, which has been dominating the box office for the last three to four weeks and has reportedly crossed Rs 1,100 crore worldwide and still counting, attention is now on which film can slow down its unprecedented run. According to director Hemanth Madhukar, only Prabhas’ upcoming film The Raja Saab has this potential.

“Prabhas has the stamina and ability to draw crowds on par with Bollywood superstars like Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and earlier Amitabh Bachchan. Like them, he too can draw audiences on the strength of his name alone. Raja Saab is bound to register grand openings,” says Hemanth.

He adds that Telugu cinema should be proud of Prabhas’ achievements at the box office. “Very few actors have done two Rs 1,000-crore films like Baahubali 2 and Kalki 2898 AD. Prabhas is on the verge of scoring a hat-trick in the elite club and if he achieves it, it will be an unbeatable feat,” he says.

Hemanth believes that comparisons between Prabhas and Ranveer Singh are unfair. “Prabhas has achieved a phenomenal image and is far ahead of many Tamil and Bollywood stars in terms of box office grosses. Dhurandhar is an intense and gripping film with outstanding performances by Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna and Sanjay Dutt, making it a perfect blend of powerful storytelling, performances and technical mastery. But Prabhas has managed to attract huge crowds even with less intense narratives, which clearly shows his box office superiority,” he notes.

The director also highlights the importance of the North Indian release of The Raja Saab. The film is being distributed in Hindi by Anil Thadani, who has previously proven to be a lucky charm for Prabhas among Hindi-speaking audiences. “Raja Saab will witness a massive launch in North and West India as well as South and across the world and is expected to deliver sensational openings that will surpass Prabhas’ previous records,” he says.

Hemanth also notes that Raja Saab marks Prabhas’ first foray into the horror genre. “Indian audiences are currently embracing spooky thrillers as seen in Stree 2, which grossed around Rs 800 million. If you combine this trend with Prabhas’ charisma, you can imagine what kind of collections the film can garner if it hits the masses,” he concludes.