The Raja Saab movie review: Prabhas’ horror-comedy hardly has anything to laugh or get horrified

Prabhas stars in The Raja Saab

• Prabhas' first horror-fantasy film, The Raja Saab, releases with high anticipation.
• Prabhas' comedy attempt is honest but falls short; female roles lack depth
• Movie offers some emotional scenes but suffers from poor writing and pacing

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The Raja Saab, directed by Maruthi, is Prabhas' first horror-fantasy movie. There is a lot of buzz and high anticipation for the movie that was released today. Malavika Mohanan, Nidhhi Agerwal, and Riddhi Kumar play the primary female roles.

Plot:

The Raja Saab is about the strong friendship between Gangamma (Zarina Wahab), who has Alzheimer's, and her loyal grandson Raju (Prabhas), who takes care of her. Gangamma forgets a lot of things, but she still loves her husband Pekamedala Kanakaraju (Sanjay Dutt), a feared exorcist who is assumed to be living alone.

Raju flies to Hyderabad in search of his grandfather, who has been missing. He learns something scary there: Kanakaraju has been dead for years and is now an evil spirit. As Raju looks more, he finds out frightening truths about his grandfather's background. The primary portion of the story is the conflict between the grandson and the unhappy spirit that isn't real.

What Works

Prabhas plays a full-fledged comedy part in the movie, which is one of the best things about it. He works hard to get rid of his larger-than-life action image, and while the execution isn't always great, some parts really work. Whenever possible, Satya makes the writing humorous and delivers good support.

Zarina Wahab plays her character with calmness and grace, which adds depth to her persona. Her scenes are the most emotional parts of the movie, and some of them fit together wonderfully.

Sanjay Dutt plays a clear part and adds a lot of feeling to the screen. His mental games, especially those with Prabhas and Boman Irani, make the plot more interesting and boost it for a short while.

In the second half, there are some interesting sections, including when Prabhas meets the shadows, the psychological sequences with Sanjay Dutt, and the hospital scene that displays Prabhas' emotional side. These are some of the best things.

Also Read: The Raja Saab twitter review: Prabhas' film opens to mixed early reactions

What Doesn't Work

It's evident that filmmaker Maruthi wants to build a great horror fantasy, but the movie doesn't live up to that promise. Bad writing and poor storyline undermine what could have been a brilliant idea.

Prabhas' attempt at comedy fails since the jokes are boring and the staging is awful, which makes the tone uneven, which may not sit well with all viewers. Malavika Mohanan's first Telugu movie doesn't give her a lot of chances to shine, and Nidhhi Agerwal and Riddhi Kumar largely play roles that don't do much.

The roles of supporting actors like Samuthirakani, Rangasthalam Mahesh, and Sapthagiri aren't effectively written, therefore they don't get enough screen time. The gags are still the same, the first half feels like it's all over the place, and the second half is still slow. The movie is about three hours lengthy, which makes these flaws worse.

Technicalities

Maruthi misses the potential to make a terrific movie with Prabhas as the main character. The movie isn't as powerful because the tone isn't clear. Thaman's background music is a significant letdown because it's overly loud and often drowns out critical passages. Karthik Palani's cinematography is okay, with some great shots here and there. The editing by Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao should have been better, especially in the early half. The production qualities are still good, but the CG work is still subpar.

Verdict

Overall, The Raja Saab is a horror fantasy that works in some areas but never entirely comes together. Prabhas' attempt at comedy is honest but not very good. The female characters aren't well written, and the movie is lethargic and has difficulties with tone. There are some interesting sequences in the second half, but they aren't enough to make the experience better. If you don't expect much from the movie, it might just be good for die-hard Prabhas fans or folks who appreciate that kind of movie.

Cast: Prabhas, Sanjay dutt, Boman Irani, Malavika Mohanan, Nidhhi Agerwal, Riddhi Kumar, Zarina Wahab

Director : Maruthi

Producers : TG Vishwa Prasad, Krithi Prasad

Rating: 2/5