So, I finally caught The Raja Saab on its big Sankranthi opening today (January 9th, can you believe it’s already 2026? lol). There was so much hype because we haven't seen Prabahs—oops, Prabhas—in a "fun" role for ages. After all those heavy Salaar and Kalki vibes, everyone was ready for him to just chill and be charming.
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| The Raja Saab |
And honestly? He is! He’s totally affable and has that "vintage" Darling energy. But man... the movie itself? It’s a bit of a mess.
The Good: Prabhas Being "Darling" Again
If you’re just going to see Prabhas’s smile, you’ll be happy. He plays Raja, a guy who’s basically a bit of a slacker trying to help his grandmother (Zarina Wahab—she’s great, btw). He looks leaner and way more relaxed than in his last few flims.
The Look: No heavy armor or dusty capes. Just Prabhas in cool shirts, dancing and actually cracking jokes.
The Vibe: The first hour is actually kinda fun. It’s got that classic Maruthi (the director) humor, even if some of the jokes are a bit "old school," if you know what I mean.
Where it Spirals (The "Out of Control" Part)
Okay, so the plot is about Raja going to this massive, creepy ancestral mansion to find his missing grandfather (played by Sanjay Dutt, who’s basically a terrifying ghost-king now).
The first half is okay, but after the interval... oh boy. It’s like the movie forgot what it wanted to be. Is it a horror? Is it a comedy? Is it a Marvel movie? At one point, Raja enters a parallel dimension to fight the ghost. It felt like the writers just threw everything at the wall.
The Length: It’s over 3 hours long. THREE HOURS. I definitely checked my phone like four times in the second half.
The Heroines: There are three of them! Malavika Mohanan, Nidhhi Agerwal, and Riddhi Kumar. But they don't really have much to do except look pretty and dance in songs that feel totally forced. Like, why are we having a romantic dance in a haunted house where everyone is dying?? lol.
Technical Stuff
Music: Thaman’s BGM is... loud. Like, really loud. My ears were literally ringing. The songs are catchy but forgettable.
VFX: It’s a bit hit or miss. The mansion looks amazing (shoutout to the production design), but some of the CGI ghosts looked a bit like they were from a 2010 video game.
Final Thoughts
Look, it’s not a bad movie if you just want to turn your brain off and watch Prabhas be a superstar. But if you’re looking for a solid horror-comedy like Munjya or even Maruthi’s older stuff, this isn't quite it. The "affable" Prabhas is carrying the whole thing on his back, but even he can't stop the screenplay from falling apart by the climax.
Also, they teased a sequel at the end called The Raja Saab: Circus. Not sure if I'm ready for another 3 hours of that, but hey, maybe they'll fix the pacing next time!
My Rating: 2.5/5 (Extra 0.5 just for Prabhas's hair looking good again).
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