I have interviewed Prabhas only once. This was just after the release of Baahubali. He was humble, soft spoken, polite and likeable. Soon his career suffered what I call the Friday frenzy- the Mallika Sherawat before-and-after effect, when one Friday changes everything for an individual.
Now, at the top of his game,Prabhas is quite a mystery to his fans. Here are some unknown facts about him.
1. Nephew of veteran Telugu actor Krisham Raju, Prabhas made his debut in 2011 with Eeswar where he shared screen space with Revathi, who played his stepmother. The two had some powerful confrontational scenes, a la Anil Kapoor and Aruna Irani in Beta. Revathy chewed up the scenes, quite like Aroona Irani. Eeswar bombed. Beta luck next time.
2. Long before Baahubali, Prabhas was a star, though not a superstar. He even did a film in Telugu with Kangana Ranaut called Ek Niranjan in 2009. Kangana had major problems with Prabhas during the film’s shooting. They eventually stopped talking to one another and the film was somehow completed. The producer was a friend of mine and I remember he even contemplated shutting down the shooting. Ek Niranjan was an average success.
3. Baahubali was planned with Prabhas from the start. I remember when director SS Rajamouli told me about the project, I asked him why he didn’t opt for a Bollywood A-lister, to give it a pan-India feel. Rajamouli had patiently explained that it was a commitment he had made to the actor. Rajamouli used the word ‘commitment’ as if I need to study it properly before questioning it.
4. Prabhas charged next to nothing for Baahubali. That’s how the film was planned. The actors were required to withdraw their fee to the minimum so that the resources could be used to make the film that Rajamouli had envisaged.
5. So much has been written about Prabhas’s relationship with Anushka Shetty. So what’s the truth? Though they both deny being together the truth is, they are very much together and for all practical purposes, a couple. The reason they cannot marry is that their respective families do not approve of their alliance. Neither Prabhas nor Anushka will go against their family’s wishes.
Image source: Instagram/anushka_prabhas_fans