Actor Prabhas' much-hyped horror-comedy, The Raja Saab, marked its debut on a promising note, crossing the ₹100 crore mark worldwide on its opening day. However, the film fell flat at the box office amid mixed reviews from fans and critics. It was soon found struggling to even cross the lifetime earnings of Prabhas' Adipurush and Saaho.
Why The Raja Saab failed
Talking about the film, Telugu filmmaker Thammareddy Bharadwaja recently revealed that the film lost its ‘identity’ as makers turned it into a pan-India release.
Bharadwaja also hinted that the director Maruthi is not an ideal choice for big-budget film.
What did Thammareddy Bharadwaja say
Talking to SumanTV Vijayawada, Bharadwaja said, “From what I know, when The Raja Saab was initially conceived, it was meant to be a small, cute film that would connect with Telugu audiences. When the producer started the project, he brought in director Maruthi. He is not known for making large-scale commercial films. He was brought in specifically to make a simple film within a regular budget for a Telugu release. I don’t understand why they did not stay true to that original idea.”
The filmmaker added that the film went through many changes, adding to the overall budget.
“As the film progressed, they began thinking about making it a pan-India project. They kept making changes, spent nearly two years reworking and reshooting the film, and moved away from the intended story. If they had stuck to the original concept, the budget would have been much lower. Whenever the makers try to add ‘pan-India’ elements, a film deviates from its purpose. As a result, both the budget and production time increase, and in the end, it rarely works in their favour," he said.
What could have been done differently?
Bharadwaja said that The Raja Saab could have been successful if it had been made on a budget of ₹100 crore. “The film still managed to collect around ₹100 crore. If the budget had been kept at ₹100 crore, it would have generated healthy profits. Today, filmmakers are so focused on making big-budget films that they have forgotten how to make memorable cinema," he explained.
Maruthi on The Raja Saab
Previously, the director, Maruthi, blamed it on the viewers for the poor performance of his film. According to him, people watched his film "in a festive mood' which prevented them from the film's layered story.
Maruthi said, as quoted by the Indian Express, “Viewers watched The Raja Saab in a festive mood, expecting light entertainment. This may have stopped them from fully connecting with the deeper layers of the narrative.”
