At the pre-release event of The Raja Saab in Hyderabad, Prabhas struck an emotional note while speaking about the film. Instead of focusing only on scale and spectacle, the actor spoke about people, performances
and why he believes the film will connect strongly with audiences during Sankranti. Prabhas thanked everyone involved in the project, from the director and cast to the technicians, producers and distributors, before sharing why the story means so much to him. ‘The grandmother character is also a hero’ Talking about the core of the film, Prabhas said, “This is a story about a grandmother and grandson. Zarina Wahab has acted wonderfully as the grandmother. While dubbing, I was so absorbed in her scenes that I forgot my own dialogues. I became a fan of my on-screen grandmother. In this film, along with me, the grandmother character is also a hero.” Prabhas praises Sanjay Dutt’s screen presence Prabhas also spoke highly of Sanjay Dutt, who plays the main antagonist in the film. “Sanjay Dutt sir has an amazing screen presence. When the camera goes in for a close-up, he completely dominates the frame,” he said. Dutt will be seen locking horns with Prabhas in The Raja Saab, shortly after his appearance in Dhurandhar. Words for the leading ladies Prabhas made sure to acknowledge the three female leads of the film and praised each one individually. “All three heroines look very beautiful. Riddhi Kumar is a very good performer and worked extremely hard for this film. Malavika (Mohanan) is a girl with beautiful eyes. She struggled for two and a half years for this movie. Nidhhi Agerwal is everyone’s favourite on set — a positive, calm person who quietly does her work. She’s a beautiful and nice person, which is a very rare combination,” he said. Trailer tease and Sankranti hopes Building excitement among fans, Prabhas hinted at what the next trailer will offer. He said it would showcase both Maruthi’s “madness” and producer Vishwa Prasad’s “budget”, adding that this is the first time in 15 years that Maruthi has made a full-fledged entertainer specially designed for Sankranti. Speaking about the festive release window, Prabhas said, “All films releasing during Sankranti should become blockbusters. We learned that tradition from our seniors. If our film also becomes a blockbuster along with theirs, we’ll be very happy.” Along with The Raja Saab, several big films are lined up for Sankranti 2026, including Jana Nayagan, Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, Anaganaga Oka Raju and Nari Nari Naduma Murari.
