Prabhas at 45: Between the Mr Perfect of the masses and Darling of the box-office lies a Rebel of a few words  

Everyone speaks about Prabhas, but the man speaks very less. In many ways, it adds to the enigmatic aura of the Rebel Star because we don’t really know who he is. SS Rajamouli, who has directed Prabhas in Chatrapathi and the two Baahubali films, says the actor becomes something else among people he is comfortable with, but he also says that three is literally a crowd for the actor. It makes you wonder how this ever-smiling introvert turns into a ‘Godzilla’ in front of the camera? But that’s what makes a good star, I suppose. 

Also, one reason why Prabhas is heralded to stratospheric levels is because his reel characters hardly reflect his real-life persona. At a time when even the newest stars on the horizon have self-referential roles, and yes-men to elevate them on screen, here’s someone who lets the story take center stage. Barring a scene in his recent entrant in the Rs 1000 crore club, Kalki 2898 AD, where his character talks about not losing a clash in his career, which can be seen as a commentary on how his films come up trumps irrespective of the competition, we hardly see Prabhas, the superstar, take over the character. Of course, this also lead to a sense of redundancy in his films, especially a handful of them between the Baahubali films and Kalki, but honestly, it wasn’t because Prabhas didn’t try. 

If you actually look at the four films that Prabhas has starred in between Baahubali 2 and Kalki 2898 AD — Saaho, Radhe Shyam, Adipurush, and Salaar — each of them were in completely different genres. There was one other iteration of Telugu cinema’s fixation with Largo Winch. There was a romance set in an utopian setting. There was a retelling of one of India’s greatest mythology, albeit with disappointing CGI. And then, there was a dark and gritty revenge drama. And these four films were bookended by a period drama and a futuristic drama. So, is there any other superstar of his stature who actually experiments with his films to this extent? If he wasn’t a man of few words, Prabhas might have actually defended these choices. But then, he is, and the pile-on was par for the course. Nevertheless, the reception to these four films were mixed on their best days, and it also spoke about the developing chasm between what the audience wants to watch, and what Prabhas films decided to deliver. And yet, his films made humungous money, just that it paled in comparison with his own standards, not the industry’s. 

Considering he is quite reticent, his silence gets quite deafening during moments of controversy. There are reports about the box-office reports of his film being fudged. He is quiet. And many times, his silence is misconstrued, and furthers a lot more agendas. But still, he is quiet. In recent times, he broke his silence only to dispel marriage rumours. Even when there was a whole showdown over Arshad Warsi’s comments on his character from Kalki 2898 AD that saw the likes of actor Nani and director Nag Ashwin jumping in to add their opinions, and the actors’ organisation of Telugu cinema lodging an official complaint with their counterparts in Hindi cinema, Prabhas remained quiet. Would it have made things easier for a lot of the stakeholders if he had just said ‘It’s okay’ or ‘No, it’s wrong’ or ‘Go, do better things in life’? Absolutely. But Prabhas prefers being silent to adding fuel to the fire, and it is somehow held him in good stead over the years. This is one formula that has given him most success in his career. 

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In fact, it is impressive how Prabhas’ silence never affects his stardom. It is almost like everyone else in Indian cinema is working overtime to provide him with a persona. Time and again, we have seen his illustrious co-stars say the nicest things about him and his benevolence. Suriya, in a recent interview about Kanguva, said that he was worried about playing a warrior because he didn’t have the physique of Prabhas. Prithviraj Sukumaran, Prabhas’ co-star in Salaar, spoke about how they had to book an entire extra room in the hotel because of the amount of food that was brought in for him by the Rebel Star. Actors like Shruti Haasan spoke about the outpouring of love that comes from Prabhas, especially when taking care of their culinary wishes.

Such stories are dime-a-dozen, but it is interesting how Prabhas prefers giving compliments to receiving them. The innocent sheepishness comes to the fore when someone praises him in person. Looking at him awkwardly take those compliments makes you forget that he actually looks like he does have the power of ten hands to punch those 100 henchmen coming his way. However, when he is giving compliments, Prabhas bellows his way through this awkwardness. Take, for instance, the camaraderie between Prabhas and Prithviraj during the Salaar promotions. The only times that Prabhas actually held the mic to say a few words, it was about Prithviraj, Malayalam cinema, and of course, Prashanth Neel. At no point, did Prabhas want to play the ‘Who is the bigger star’ game with his co-star. It was almost like every interview with Prithvi was used to elevate the Malayalam actor-filmmaker like how entire films are made to elevate Prabhas’ character. With every interview, it was getting clear that Prabhas loves to praise people, but also with concrete reasons so that it never comes across as superficial statements. Prabhas is a giver.

And he has given South Cinema, especially Telugu cinema a strong identity that often gets lost in the onslaught of Hindi cinema. Prabhas is undoubtedly one of the most influential voices of Telugu cinema, and it is interesting to see him be completely at peace. Here’s a superstar who actually lets his movies do all the talking. However, what is truly brilliant about Prabhas is that his seemingly simple script choices have an unconscious pattern. Just like the four films bookended by Baahubali 2 and Kalki 2898 AD, his next set of films is once again very much plonked right at the centre of mass commercial entertainers but with each being in a distinct genre. There’s Salaar 2. Then there’s Raja Saab. There’s also Kalki 2. And then Fauji with Sita Ramam director Hanu Raghavpudi. Oh… he also has Spirit with Sandeep Reddy Vanga. 

Soon enough, Prabhas would silently (of course) release the next instalment of these film franchises in the hope that smiles are plastered on the audience’s faces. Records are going to tumble. New controversies are going to pop up. Newer benchmarks are going to be set. A festival of excesses will be upon us. The bonafide pan-Indian superstar would just bigger and better, and amidst it all, Prabhas would continue to be a man of a few words. He can afford to be, because he is now a superstar who can shift the tide of an entire industry’s fortunes at the drop of a hat. He can afford to be, because he is supported by his ‘Darling’ fans who do the speaking for him on multiple platforms. He can afford to be, because many fiefdoms of actors come together to have his back. 

And most importantly, birthday boy Prabhas can afford to be a man of few words, because he is the OG of today’s pan-Indian phenomenon, and when his movies do the talking, they aren’t silent whispers… they are thunderous roars.