The RajaSaab (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – A young heir embraces both his royal heritage and rebellious spirit as he rises to power, establishing unprecedented rules during his reign as Raja Saab.

My Take – While the blockbuster success of the epic action duology Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and its sequel Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) catapulted him to international stardom, however, since then Prabhas has been struggling to hold on to his title as the OG pan-India star. Particularly due to the back to back failures of his follow-up features, Saaho (2019), Radhe Shyam (2022), and Adipurush (2023).

Though the positive reception and the box office numbers of the action drama Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire (2023), and the science fiction Kalki 2898 AD (2024) came as provisional relief to his status as a bankable star, the success of those films were (deservedly) steered mostly towards filmmakers Prashanth Neel and Nag Ashwin‘s creative visions and execution, rather than Prabhas‘ performance.

Hence, his latest starrer, which aimed to rewind back to his earlier status, when he thrived in light-hearted roles with space for romance and humor, arrived on the weekend with a sense of skepticism. But while the Telugu actor manages to be at his charming best, unfortunately for him, despite a promising premise and a massive budget, this one too collapses under its massive ambition and fails to justify its baffling scale (thanks to a budget of ₹400–450 crore).

Leaving us with an experience that wildly oscillates between moments of surprising fun and stretches of confounding nonsense that only adds on to its 183 minutes run time. Marketed as a horror-comedy with fantasy elements, here, writer-director Maruthi, known for his success with small and mid-budget films, employs a narrative that keeps moving but rarely progresses, where scenes feel stacked rather than connected, and revelations arrive without impact because the groundwork was never laid.

This is a film that wants to be everything at once and ends up being interesting only in fragments. It is messy, indulgent, frequently nonsensical, and frustratingly careless with its characters. Except for a mildly interesting climax segment, there is little to appreciate.

Here is hoping, especially for Prabhas fans, that he bounces back with the upcoming historical action thriller ‘Fauzi’ and the Sandeep Reddy Vanga directed ‘Spirit‘.

The story follows Raju “Raja Saab” (Prabhas), who lives a quiet life, mostly goofing around with his neighbor, Anitha (Riddhi Kumar), and taking care of his Alzheimer’s ridden grandmother Gangamma (Zarina Wahab), who remembers only fragments of her earlier matriarch life and has been clinging on to the hope that her missing husband, Pekamedala Kanakaraju (Sanjay Dutt), is somewhere still alive.

Hence, when Raja learns that his grandfather may be in Hyderabad, near Charminar, he travels there, expecting that a bribe facilitated by his police constable uncle (VTV Ganesh) would help widen the search. During this phase, he even falls in love with Bessy (Niddhi Agerwal), a devout Nun, while another woman named Bhairavi (Malavika Mohanan), also joins him in his quest, hoping to clear accused grandfather’s name by finding Kanakaraju.

The group’s search eventually leads them to a notorious haunted mansion in the Narasapur forest, where they discover that the much dead exorcist/hypnotist Kanakaraju was never actually a victim, but indeed the architect of several misfortunes. And with RajaSaab’s arrival propelling his long-term dark plan finally into motion, the group finds themselves imprisoned within the estate with no way out.

Honestly, the core idea revolving around a royal betrayal, hypnotism, revenge, and generational trauma sounds interesting. But while the premise has potential, the execution is deeply flawed. The plot tries to weave together psychological horror and fantasy elements, but none of it comes alive on screen. Mainly as the film leans heavily on familiar mass cinema tropes, deploying them with little variation or surprise. Forced songs interrupt the flow, and they are clearly inserted for commercial appeal rather than narrative necessity.

Though the interval point finally offers an interesting twist, with the second half, set mostly inside the haunted house, it never fully explores its complete potential, even when the production design by Rajeevan Nambiar, filled with statues, props and hypnotic spiral motifs that echo the story’s mind games create the requisite visual mood. At its core, the film hinges on the brilliance and evils of Pekamedala Kanakaraju, something that carries the makings of genuinely unsettling horror. Yet the writing fails to mine this prospect, offering only minor sustained creepiness.

Barring an occasional jump scare and a stunt involving a VFX-generated crocodile, the tension never materializes. None of the characters appear genuinely frightened; they behave as though they are on a spirited adventure weekend. There is even a throwaway explanation involving a magic wardrobe to justify the leading women’s immaculate styling, alongside casual chatter about sunscreen and moisturizers. Sure, the cinematography is decent, and some VFX shots are visually appealing, but given reports that the film cost nearly ₹400 crore and took almost three years to complete, the final output feels unjustified.

Performance wise, Prabhas makes an earnest effort and seems to relish playing a lighter, more playful character. Though some scenes clearly appear to be using a body double, Prabhas is undeniably the film’s strongest asset, as the narrative provides him ample room to be silly, dramatic, and unpredictable. Even when the writing fails him, his commitment keeps scenes afloat.

Sanjay Dutt appears to be enjoying himself, and while his role does not always make sense, his willingness to embrace the madness is refreshing. Zarina Wahab, meanwhile, delivers a sincere performance as the grandmother and stands out. Boman Irani appears briefly, nudging the narrative towards an intriguing strand of psychological mind games, but even this detour is brief and forgettable.

Malavika Mohanan gets the most screen time and looks gorgeous throughout, while Niddhi Agerwal and Riddhi Kumar are mostly underutilized, serving primarily as glamour attractions rather than meaningful contributors to the story. In supporting roles, Samuthirakani, Satya, Saptagiri, Prabhas Sreenu, and VTV Ganesh are mostly wasted. On the whole, ‘The RajaSaab’ is a bizarre spectacle that struggles to balance its horror, comedy and ambitious fantasy elements.