Kalki 2898 AD: A Look At Prabhas’ Cinematic Journey—Illustrious Highs, Sobering Lows And Everything In Between

With Varsham, a 2004 romantic action film directed by late Shobhan, Prabhas got his first major breakthrough in Telugu cinema.

For most North Indian audiences including this writer, their first introduction to Prabhas was SS Rajamouli's Baahubali (2015). By then, the actor had a considerable body of work in Telugu cinema. Often touted as the first ‘pan-India’ breakout star, Prabhas had solid credentials to back him pre-2015—that most of us were unfamiliar with his stardom prior to this is our ignorance.

Prabhas: Varsham And First Breakthrough

With Varsham, a 2004 romantic action film directed by late Shobhan, Prabhas got his first major breakthrough in Telugu cinema. The next decade saw Prabhas deliver a slew of films at Telugu box office, some of the most impactful ones being—Chatrapathi (2005), Bujjigadu (2008), Billa (2009), Darling (2010), Mr. Perfect (2011), and Mirchi (2013).

It wasn't until 2015 that Prabhas became a household name. Rajamouli's epic Bahhubali propelled his fame to unprecedented heights and gave birth to a term ‘pan-India’—which, in all honesty, I still struggle to make sense of.

Also Read: Kalki 2898 AD Twitter review: Netizens praise visuals, Mahabharata sequence, highlight flat screenplay and limited screen time for Prabhas

Breaking The ‘Pan-India Label’

With KGF: Chapter 2 and Pushpa: The Rise, it was not until the second half of 2022 that Bollywood (which up until then was churning out sports biopics) suddenly started investing in epics or as these films often called in interviews—‘Pan-India’, ‘big event’ and ‘massy entertainers’.

Why didn't this epiphany happen earlier? Your guess is as good as mine. The lack of conviction and an irrational fear of taking creative risks meant 2022 was the year of South, Both the Bollywood and the audience who had so far treated the South film industry (comprising of Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil cinema) as insignificant had woken up to the immense impact and the box-office pull these films had.

Whether these were as critically sound is a different conversation. But for an industry where ROI is of utmost importance (and critic reviews, unfortunately, take a backseat), these action-masala-potboilers or whatever term was used to describe them were filling seats fast. South was a beast in itself—one which gave sleepless nights to Bollywood producers and directors, In many ways, Prabhas was the face of the so-called ‘pan-India’ movement since Rajamouli’s Baahubali was often considered a benchmark for success.

Also Read: Kalki 2898 AD Release Live Updates: Prabhas starrer eyes Rs 100 crore opening

Telugu Star Goes Global

One would argue it isn’t wise to label a certain genre of films as ‘pan India’. What does the term mean anyway? Aren’t all films—regardless of the language or place where they are set, meant to appeal to the audience? Subtitles are anything but a two-inch barrier (as coined by Bong Joon- Ho, the director of Parasite) but an enabler making films accessible for people from different vernaculars.

One would argue that this forceful creation of a ‘pan India’ genre has done Bollywood more harm than good. Films are films. They should be judged on their merit, not on their language or place of origin. Prabhas, in many ways, was the first-ever pan India’ actor. Post-Baahubali, the actor continued breaking the genre this stereotype hits Salaar: Part 1 — Ceasefire (2023) and other films which received appreciation across India.

One cannot not acknowledge the misfire that was Om Raut’s Adipurush (2023), which many feel put the actor in a tough spot. With Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD releasing in theaters tomorrow, it will be interesting to see if the film will win over the audiences. If advance bookings are anything to go by, the film is already raking big numbers at the box office.

As for Prabhas and his filmography, the actor has indeed built a formidable legacy for himself as the doyen in Telugu cinema. With over seven Filmfare South wins, a Nandi and SIIMA award, Prabhas has set the bar rather high with his acting journey. Will Kalki make or break this legacy? We’ll know in a few hours.