The Raja Saab: Prabhas struggles in this bloated, illogical, and lengthy horror comedy

The Raja Saab Story

Raju(Prabhas) lives with his grandmother Gangadevi(Zarina Wahab), an Alzimer's patient is waiting for her husband, Kanaka Raju(Sanjay Dutt), to come back into her life. Seeing her condition, Raju goes on a search to bring him back. Raju gets the shock of his life when he finds out that his grandfather, has died years ago, is living as an evil spirit in a haunted palace. The rest of the story is how Raju deals with this situation and fights the spirit, who is back with a purpose.

The Raja Saab Review

Prabhas is known for his action dramas, and to take a break from the same old stuff that he's been doing, he chose Telugu director Maruthi to make a horror comedy in the form of The Raja Saab. Well, Maruthi sets up a biggie and adds elements such as horror, thrill, and comedy to The Raja Saab, but falters in his execution.

One of the biggest villains of the film is the runtime itself. With over three hours, The Raja Saab feels quite lengthy. This issue was pointed out by many ahead of the film's release, but Maruthi stated that the content is so huge that the audience will not feel the length. But in hindsight, The Raja Saab’s biggest villain is its runtime, which goes on forever to get to the point.

Just to include love tracks, Maruthi drags the film for no reason, as the repeated scenes bore the audience. The horror comedy genre is such that if things do not go as planned, the proceedings can turn out over the top. 

Barring a few comedy scenes featuring Prabhas, the rest of the fun factor fails to deliver. If the film had been narrated in just two and a half hours and with proper horror thrills, the output would have been even better.

Just to enhance things for the sake of Prabhas, the presentation goes for a toss. The story of Raja Saab is quite good on paper, but when it comes to execution, it has so many issues. 

There is no denying the fact that the three heroines are there just for the sake of it, and their tracks are underdeveloped. None of the love tracks creates interest in the proceedings and, in fact, acts as a speed breaker.

Prabhas is good in his role, and it is refreshing to see him attempting such a genre despite his action image. For his fans, Prabhas delivers, but it is the writing that falters. Maruthi disturbs the flow with unnecessary pauses for songs and comedy skits that do not work. Due to this, the basic soul of the film goes missing.

Maruthi's screenplay does not have the punch it needs, as the scenes are narrated conveniently. However, he does a decent job in the last hour. There was so much said about the climax, and it lives up to the hype created. 

But sadly, it is way too late by then, as the damage is already done. Maruthi has failed to make use of the opportunity that a big star like Prabhas has given him. The inconsistent and illogical scenes add to the misery and make things boring.

Coming to the performances, Prabhas looks fresh and does well in what his role demands. His fans will feel happy to see him in a role that is fresh and giving. Malavika Mohanan gets the better role among the three and looks gorgeous. All three heroines are primarily there for glamour and provide it in plenty. Riddhi Kumar is good and has been given a supporting role.

Niddhi Agerwal is also impressive with good screen presence. After a very long time, Zarina Wahab gets a good role, and she excels. Her chemistry with Prabhas is quite endearing to watch on screen. 

Sanjay Dutt gets a key role, but he is mostly seen through VFX and does not create much of an impact. Boman Irani is neat in his role and brings depth to the proceedings. The comedy gang of Prabhas Sreenu, Sapthagiri, and others do their best to add substance but fail.

The Raja Saab has been made on a massive budget of Rs 350 crore, and the entire second half happens in a haunted house. The production values are top-notch, and the production design related to the horror elements and props is quite good. Thaman composes the music, and though it feels loud at times, it enhances the proceedings well. The dialogues are good, but the editing is pathetic.

Star heroes do not attempt horror films as there is nothing for them to deliver as leads. But as Prabhas wanted to do a fun film after a long time, he chose Maruthi for Raja Saab. In order to impress the star and his fans, Maruthi adds so many elements that he finds it hard to handle them and makes a total mess of it, disappointing one and all.

The Raja Saab Verdict

On the whole, The Raja Saab fails to live up to the hype created. Though the film might be good on paper and has great visuals, excessive length, logical issues, bland romantic tracks, and a lack of grip in the proceedings make this film a tiring watch this weekend. Only fans of Prabhas might like the film, as he makes a comeback in a fun avatar after a long gap, but the rest is disappointing.

Also Read: Nidhhi Agerwal on The Raja Saab: I’ve never seen a film like this, Prabhas fans will go berserk