Movie: The Raja Saab
Rating: 2/5
Banner: People Media Factory
Cast: Prabhas, Nidhhi Agerwal, Malavika Mohanan, Riddhi Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Zarina Wahab, Boman Irani, VTV Ganesh, Mahesh and others
Music: Thaman S
DOP: Karthik Palani
Editor: Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao
Production Designer: Rajeevan
Co-Producer: Ishan Saksena
Creative Producer: SKN
Producers: TG Vishwa Prasad, Krithi Prasad
Written and Direction: Maruthi
Release Date: Jan 09, 2026
The Raja Saab has been in the making for a long time, with fans eagerly awaiting it for its promise of glamour, refreshing entertainment, and horror thrills, a relatively new space for Prabhas. But does the film live up to those expectations?
Let’s take a closer look.
Story:
Raja Saab (Prabhas) lives with his grandmother Gangamma (Zarina Wahab), who is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and longs to meet her missing husband (Sanjay Dutt).
After learning that he was recently seen in Hyderabad, Raja Saab travels to the city, asking his friend (Riddhi Kumar) to take care of his grandmother. There, he meets a nun (Nidhhi Agerwal) and falls for her, while Bhairavi (Malavika Mohanan) later enters his life.
In search of his grandfather, Raja Saab, along with Bhairavi and his friends, reaches a palace in the Narsapur forest, only to discover that his grandfather has been dead for years and now exists as a ghost.
Who was his grandfather, and what is the truth behind his past?
Artistes’ Performances:
Prabhas appears in a light-hearted role after a long gap and feels largely refreshing, despite noticeable makeup issues. After being confined to mass and action-oriented roles for over a decade, he handles this fun character with ease. His performance in the hospital sequence in the second half stands out. But there are some inconsistences in his look.
Nidhhi Agerwal and Malavika Mohanan are primarily used for glamour, with Malavika getting more screen time to showcase her glam quotient. Riddhi Kumar has a simple role with limited presence.
Zarina Wahab, as Prabhas’s grandmother, provides an emotional anchor and delivers a convincing performance.
Sanjay Dutt appears mostly as a ghost in various VFX-heavy forms rather than in a regular avatar and is adequate as the evil spirit. Boman Irani is fine in his brief role.
The comedy involving Satya, Prabhas Seenu, and VTV Ganesh, however, lacks a contemporary touch.
Technical Excellence:
Shot over a period of more than three years on lavish sets with extensive use of visual effects, the film boasts appealing cinematography, though the VFX itself is inconsistent. While some graphics look decent, others appear too basic.
The recurring cat visuals with tacky effects stand out for the wrong reasons, and the production design often feels too loud and in-your-face.
Thaman’s music works in the film’s favour. Three songs are visually appealing, with the Prabhas–Nidhhi Agerwal number being used twice.
The remix track “Nach Nach” adds to the glamour quotient. Editing, however, especially in the first half, leaves much to be desired.
Highlights:
Prabhas’s refreshing avatar
Hospital episode and few scenes in Second half
Picturization of songs
Drawback:
Formulaic sequences with the heroines
Visual effects
Unconvincing climax
Inconsistent narrative
Analysis
Although superstar Rajinikanth proved with “Chandramukhi” that a top star can succeed in a horror drama, it remains a genre most leading actors tend to avoid. In that sense, Prabhas deserves appreciation.
At the peak of his stardom, he has stepped away from his familiar action-heavy and larger-than-life roles to attempt something different for his fans and audiences. Playing a character that indulges in romance with three heroines while also delivering comedy within a horror setup is a refreshing change for him.
Director Maruthi, too, chooses a relatively different premise. However, his major misstep lies in the narration.
Within the first five minutes, Prabhas is introduced with a brief fight followed by a colourful song, setting the film’s tone early on. What follows is a routine template: one heroine after another—Riddhi Kumar, Nidhhi Agerwal, and Malavika Mohanan—enter the narrative, each allotted two or three scenes and a song.
A large portion of the first half is consumed by this repetitive structure. Only just before the interval does the story shift to the palace in a haunted forest, where Prabhas encounters Sanjay Dutt’s ghost, laying the foundation for the second half.
While the songs and glamour may work as casual time-pass, the overall sequences—and especially the so-called comedy—are poorly conceived and lack freshness. The same issues persist well into the second half.
The film establishes that Prabhas, Malavika, and others cannot escape the palace due to the ghost’s control, yet characters like Riddhi Kumar, Nidhhi Agerwal, and Boman Irani enter the place with ease, making the narrative illogical. The entire comedy track involving Nidhhi Agerwal and Saptagiri is particularly cringe-worthy.
The film briefly regains momentum when Boman Irani explains to Prabhas how they can escape the palace. This 25-minute stretch is engaging and stands out as the strongest portion of the second half. Unfortunately, the final confrontation between Prabhas and Sanjay Dutt, along with the climax, fails to leave a lasting impact. Even the extended lead-up to the second half feels unnecessary.
Overall, The Raja Saab, despite Prabhas’s sincere attempt to offer audiences a novel experience beyond his routine action films and a fairly engaging pre-climax episode, is let down by disjointed narration, outdated romantic tracks, and cringe-inducing comedy. Tacky visual effects and prolonged dull stretches further dilute the film, preventing it from rising above mediocrity despite a promising premise.
Bottom-line: Why This Saab