Instagram is a place that can make someone feel horny one second and sad for a puppy the next, and then generate horny thoughts a second after that. Why am I talking about Instagram? Because that's how this new movie, starring Prabhas, behaves. The RajaSaab is apparently a "horror-comedy-fantasy" but the only horror scenario I can imagine here is that the writer-director of this movie got possessed by a male teenager who has been watching way too many Instagram reels — the ones that alternatively feature seductive women, grandmother sentiments, melodramatic teleserial clips, cringe-inducing jokes, embarrassing dance sequences and male posturing, and stunning visual effects — and combine them all into a "fantasy" that does nothing but assault the senses of the audiences upon whom it is unleashed.
Prabhas is introduced with a kerchief covering his face. There are so many instances in this movie that made me wish I had covered my face the same way, but then it would be an injustice to one's profession as a film critic if a review were written after watching three hours (which feels like thirty hours) of what can best be described as a "torture chamber drama" with half-lidded eyes. Because no amount of stunning locations, costumes, beautiful women, and impromptu songs (with cringe-inducing dance moves that wouldn't look good even on Chiranjeevi) can help smooth out all the numerous rough edges.
And what were the women who signed up for this thinking before they signed up for it? As for Prabhas, well, I hope Sandeep Reddy Vanga redeems him in Spirit. I'm not a fan of the 'Rebel Star', but at least Rajamouli didn't make him look like a complete joke. Who is to blame for this — the actor or the filmmaker who made him perform this way?
Here's the thing. It's not that The RajaSaab doesn't even have at least one interesting idea at its core. It does, and they concern the portions involving Prabhas and Sanjay Dutt. Here's a supernatural antagonist (played by Dutt, of course) who is said to be so many things. He is described as someone who, before his death, was not just a sorcerer but also a scientist, hypnotist, and many other things. He has an interesting backstory. He resides in a haunted mansion that presents enough opportunities for the visual effects team, the art and costume departments, editors, colourists and everyone involved to conjure up some of the most spectacular images with the right combination of colours, lights, sound, smoke, and make-up effects.
Unfortunately, The RajaSaab is so confused about what it wants to do and when to do it that everything else — the few positive aspects — feels like a wasted effort.
Thaman's music, for instance, is so non-stop and aggressively loud that I counted maybe one or two instances that allowed a moment of quietness (the Boman Irani scenes). A loud background score is supposed to keep one awake. But when the score happens to be so familiar and boring, one struggles to keep awake. Actually, you will not miss anything even if you doze off. Yeah, this is one of those movies.
I hope at least the dubbing artists (Malayalam) had fun. It felt like they did. Because after two cancelled shows — PVR screened the Telugu version without subtitles, another theatre didn’t get the Malayalam version, followed by waiting for a third screen that played the Malayalam version after a short gap — I sure did not have a good day at the movies with this one.
Film: The RajaSaab
Director: Maruthi
Cast: Prabhas, Sanjay Dutt, Malavika Mohanan, Niddhi Agerwal, Riddhi Kumar
Rating: 1/5
