The Raja Saab arrives with towering expectations — grandeur, humour, romance, magic, and Prabhas at the centre of it all. Directed by Maruthi, the film aims to blend horror and comedy with mass entertainment. What it ends up delivering, unfortunately, is a stretched-out experience that never quite finds its rhythm, despite a handful of interesting ideas.
Clocking in at over three hours, The Raja Saab struggles to justify its length, often testing the audience’s patience instead of rewarding it.
Story: A haunted past wrapped in family sentiment
Prabhas plays Raju, also known as Raja Saab — a man whose entire world revolves around his grandmother Ganga Devi, portrayed by Zarina Wahab. Doctors believe she suffers from advanced Alzheimer’s, forgetting everyone around her except one person — her missing husband, Kanakaraju.
That missing grandfather is played by Sanjay Dutt, whose absence becomes the emotional and narrative trigger of the film. Raju’s quest to bring him back leads to a mysterious haveli built in isolation — a place soaked in secrets, mind games, and supernatural oddities tied to his grandparents’ past.
On paper, the setup promises intrigue, emotion, and eerie fun. On screen, it often gets lost in excess.
Execution: Too many ideas, too little focus
One of the film’s biggest missteps is how it uses its runtime. Instead of digging deeper into the haunting mystery or Kanakaraju’s hypnotic abilities (teased early on by Boman Irani’s Dr Padmabhushan), the narrative spends an inordinate amount of time setting up Raju’s multiple romantic tracks.
Anitha (Riddhi Kumar), Bessy (Nidhhi Agerwal), and Bhairavi (Malavika Mohanan) are introduced less as characters and more as distractions. Their arcs feel repetitive, often bordering on objectification, and ultimately contribute very little to the core story.
By the time the much-hyped 40-minute climax arrives — filled with giants, crocodiles, warriors, and desert visuals — fatigue has already set in. The spectacle lands, but the impact doesn’t.
What works: Atmosphere, mind games, and stray sparks
The film’s strongest stretch unfolds inside the eerie haveli itself. Every corridor feels strange, every room hides a surprise, and the trials faced by Raju and his group briefly rekindle curiosity. Some one-liners cut through tense moments effectively, and a cheeky self-aware reference comparing Prabhas to Jesus draws chuckles for those in the know.
There’s also an interesting psychological thread where Maruthi explores how easily Raju slips between reality and fantasy, sanity and delusion. In these moments, the film hints at the smarter, tighter version it could have been.
What doesn’t: Wasted potential and creative laziness
For every promising scene, The Raja Saab follows up with a letdown. Bhairavi gets one moment of strength — only for it to be immediately undercut to elevate Raju’s heroism. Conflicts that appear substantial are resolved with surprising laziness.
Action sequences defy logic to the point of distraction — including gravity-defying stunts involving an indestructible suitcase. Meanwhile, Thaman S’s background score leans heavily on familiar, “inspired” motifs, played at ear-splitting volume.
Technical issues don’t help either. Noticeable VFX shortcuts — especially Prabhas’ face awkwardly superimposed on body doubles — repeatedly break immersion. Costume choices feel bizarre, with female characters wandering through a haunted mansion dressed in sequinned sarees, lehengas, and thigh-high slits, even as danger lurks around every corner.
Adding to the frustration, several visually striking moments teased in the trailer — including Prabhas’ grey-haired look — never actually make it into the final cut.
Genre fatigue and the sequel twist
Indian cinema has already proven that horror-comedy can work brilliantly when handled with imagination and restraint. Films like Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Anando Brahma set strong benchmarks. Against that backdrop, The Raja Saab feels content with throwing ideas at the wall instead of shaping them into something cohesive.
And just when the audience is mentally heading for the exit, the film announces its sequel — The Raja Saab 2: Circus 1935. Prabhas appears in clown makeup, the setting shifts to a circus, and by that point, questions feel pointless. It simply is what it is.
Final verdict
The Raja Saab wants to entertain, scare, and amuse — but never fully commits to any one emotion. Prabhas brings presence, the haveli setting offers intrigue, and a few moments genuinely work. Unfortunately, bloated runtime, shallow writing, and unrealised ideas drag the film down.
PopcornRealm Verdict: ⭐⭐☆☆☆
A film packed with ideas but short on discipline — The Raja Saab had the tools to be fun and fantastical, but ends up trapped in its own excess.
Rating: ★★
