After a long inordinate wait filled with delays, controversies, and sky-high expectations, The Raja Saab has finally hit the screens. Starring Prabhas in the lead role, the film is marketed as a horror-comedy with fantasy elements, but instead turns out to be a slow, exhausting experience that lacks horror, comedy, emotional depth, and engaging narration. The RajaSaab movie review…
Raja (Prabhas), lives with his grandmother Gangamma (Zareena Wahab) and his uncle’s daughter Anitha (Riddhi Kumar). Anitha loves Raja, while Gangamma suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and remembers only her husband Kanakaraju (Sanjay Dutt), who she believes is still alive.
Raja learns that his grandfather may be in Hyderabad, near Charminar, and travels there. During this phase, he encounters a nun (Niddhi Agerwal) and instantly falls in love with her. It is now time for Bhairavi (Malavika Mohanan) to enter the story, and deliver a large sum of money to Raja on her grandfather’s (Samuthirakani) instructions.
Through him, Raja learns that his grandfather is hiding in the Narsapur forest. The story then shifts to a haunted house deep in the forest, where Raja, Bhairavi, his friend, and his uncle enter — only to find Satya already trapped there. What happened to Kanakaraju? Why does he abandon Gangamma?
Unfortunately, Maruthi, who earlier tasted success with small and mid-budget films like Prema Katha Chitram, Bhale Bhale Magadivoy, and Mahanubhavudu, makes a big mess of the golden opportunity to direct a huge star like Prabhas. The core idea — involving royal betrayal, hypnotism, revenge, and generational trauma — sounds interesting, almost like a modern-day Chandamama tale.
A cruel man manipulates a queen using tantric powers, steals her wealth, and leaves her to live a miserable life. Years later, her grandson discovers the truth and seeks revenge. While the premise has potential, the execution is deeply flawed.The interval point finally offers a mildly interesting twist, but by then, the audience’s patience is already tested. Neither horror nor comedy works. Forced songs interrupt the flow, clearly inserted for commercial appeal rather than narrative necessity.
The Raja Saab is a classic example of a film with high expectations but poor execution. As far as performances are concerned, Sanjay Dutt is listless and looks bored almost throughout the film while Boman Irani sleep walks. Zarina Wahab shows histrionics .All the three girls simply masquerade as if they are on a picnic. To sum up, the film turns out to be a major disappointment — especially for Prabhas fans — and tests the audience’s patience rather than entertaining them. The film adds one more nail in the cinematic coffin of Prabhas. The Rajasaab movie has a run time of 183 minutes.
– Review by Jyothi Venkatesh
Cast of The RajaSaab:
Prabhas as Raju (Rajasaab)
Sanjay Dutt as Pekamedala Kanakaraju (Raju’s grandfather)
Nidhhi Agerwal as Bessy
Malavika Mohanan as Bhairavi
Riddhi Kumar as Anitha
Zarina Wahab as Gangamma (Raju’s grandmother)
Samuthirakani as Pekamedala Gangaraju (Raju’s uncle)
Boman Irani as Dr Padmabhushan
Murali Sharma
Credits of The RajaSaab:
Production companies – People Media Factory, IVY Entertainment
Produced by T. G. Vishwa Prasad
Written & Directed by Maruthi
Cinematography – Karthik Palani
Edited by Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao
Music by Thaman S
