Saaho actor Prabhas: With big films, the stress is also big

Excerpts from the interview:

After Baahubali, the audience is searching for a Baahubali in Saaho too. How do you feel about it?

I am numb and half dead. The film is releasing this week, and there is so much pressure. That’s why I don’t want to do big films as with big films the stress is also big.

I think with such big films, I have also ended up doing lesser films. I have been slow. Now I want to do at least one film in a year.

The audience is expecting to be entertained the way they were entertained in Baahubali. But they also know that it was a periodic film and now Saaho is an action thriller, so it is a different film. They have seen it in the trailer and so they are prepared for it. It will be good, and I think the audience will be entertained.

How easy or difficult was it for you to finally get out of the Baahubali phase?

Baahubali will always be a part of my life. It is a beautiful part of my life. I was comfortable while working on Baahubali for four years, and before that I was preparing for four years or so. But now I am prepared. I want to do something different.

The love that Baahubali has got me, from all over the country, is overwhelming. Suddenly from one state to the whole country, a lot of people know me now. And now I have started feeling the pressure. How much can I entertain after Baahubali? With all this love, I am in a confused state of mind.

Since this is an out-and-out action film. What kind of safety measures where taken on sets?

There were a lot of safety measures. To make sure we were safe while performing these stunts, we had to prepare a lot. We had action experts from around the world to work on Saaho. Kenny Bates (who is credited with films like Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Transformers franchise) was roped into design a stunt aboard a chopper. Helicopter stunts that were shot in Europe. We had experts on sets all the time while we were shooting to make sure that safety measures were in place.

Baahubali was high on action, and now Saaho too. Do you not fear getting typecast as an action hero?

No. I have done action films like Yogi, Chatrapati and Munna in the starting of my career. Then I did family dramas and love stories like Darling and Mr. Perfect. There was action but nobody remembers the action. They remember the love story. It is a very thin line. I think if the story is right and the connect is right, the audience can differentiate.

Will you now be open to doing a Bollywood film?

Saaho is as much a Bollywood film as any as we have shot it in Hindi. If you mean a Hindi film directed by a Hindi filmmaker, then yes, I would love to do Bollywood films.