The stupendous success of Baahubali catapulted South superstar Prabhas to fame, but despite all the success he remains unaffected by the stardom.
Though he is excited with all the attention, Prabhas says it has not affected his life. “I am not much of a public person. Neither do I think I am a superstar. I spend most of my time with family and friends who I have grown up with.”
But what keeps him grounded? “Well, it’s people such as director Rajamouli who has seen so much success in his life and yet is grounded and that inspires me,” he confesses.
Prabhas entered Bollywood with director Sujeeth’s bilingual Saaho opposite Shraddha Kapoor. Offers have been pouring in but the actor is taking time and choosing wisely.
“I want to do more films. I had given six years to the Baahubali series. I had done so much action so I wanted to do a light film now. I thought I would do a love story and make some money but Saaho came along. It is a romantic action thriller. I want to do more of pan-Indian films now. Baahubali was just the beginning. We thought that it would work in the South but we were more keen how the film would be received in the North. We never expected such tremendous appreciation for the film. It was also appreciated in Japan. People were standing to watch us and it was unimaginable. That’s the kind of reactions we love to see.”
About the action in Saaho, the 39-year-old says, “I took a lot of risk for the last 17 years and did action films in the South. I did family dramas and love stories, which also worked. I didn’t take body doubles and suffered a lot of injuries. Action masters would love to work with me. I did risky stuff like climbing buildings and doing stunts like rope jumps but now I don’t want to take much risks. Safety is important.”
Prabhas is also known to be the most expensive star of the South. However, he refutes all the claims. “In the last six years, I have done seven films, which were low-budget. Now I will start charging for small films. But Saaho is the home production of my friend. They can ask me for anything and I don’t discuss money with them. Now, I need to plan my remuneration.”
The actor, who is trying to overcome his shyness, says he finds it difficult to romance on screen. “Shraddha is good at romance. She has done romantic films. I was surprised that she was doing action, because she is so petite.
"I have always been shy when it comes to romancing girls on screen. I never spoke to women earlier, I was that shy. I remember when I did my first film they didn’t have a monitor or caravan, and we shot on the roads of Hyderabad. I’m comfortable within the four walls of the studio but not on roads. There was this scene that we shot on the roads. When I entered the scene, the heroine comes running and hugs me. We shot the scene and later the director called me to the avid room and sweetly said, ‘What is this? This is a love story and she hugs you and she cries but you’re not hugging her. How can I shoot like this?’ I said, ‘I didn’t know and will try to do better next time.’ I’m trying to overcome my shyness now.”
About competing the Khans in the industry, he says, “I’m no one to compete with them. In fact, I’m a huge fan of all the three Khans. They are an inspiration for a lot of actors. My grandfather was a Salman Khan fan. They have been here for more than 40 years and worked hard given so many films. You cannot compete with them at whatever stage. They bring a lot of inspiration.”