Prabhas fans went into The Raja Saab expecting a record-breaking run, but the final outcome was disastrous. The film failed to impress even die hard Prabhas fans, and that disconnect reflected clearly at the box office.
In the end, it was only Prabhas's enormous star power that acted as a safety net, pushing the film past the Rs.150 crore worldwide gross mark.
Before the release, director Maruthi expressed extraordinary confidence. Even after the public verdict came out, he has continued to describe the film as a visionary one. He still feels he made a great film, without clearly acknowledging its flaws. While it may not be realistic to expect an outright admission of mistakes immediately after release, the explanations now being offered for the flop performance have raised eyebrows.
Maruthi argued that audiences could not fully grasp the film because they were in a festive mindset, and that a different release period would have led to prolonged discussions around the climax on and off social media. Even if one temporarily accepts this reasoning, it raises an obvious counterpoint. The makers had the option to release the film earlier, in early December, much like Pushpa 2 or Animal. Instead, the team deliberately postponed the film and locked in a Sankranti release.
This delay was not driven by post-production constraints. Producer TG Vishwa Prasad himself stated in interviews that buyers pushed for a Sankranti release, believing the festive window would maximize revenues. Ironically, that very season worked brilliantly for Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, which emerged as a blockbuster, while other releases secured respectable word of mouth. The Raja Saab stood out for the wrong reasons. All films worked at least in some way, whereas Raja Saab was the only one that got rejected completely, with not even one redeeming quality.
In retrospect, with tighter editing, corrective post-production work, and a solo release at a less crowded time, the film could have fared slightly better. Removing all the unnecessary and cringe romantic scenes and concentrating on the core story would have made some positive difference.
Overconfidence, a clear underestimation of competition, and taking the audience for granted by Maruthi led the project into troubled waters. Now, the makers are left defending the result after the damage is done, instead of accepting the truth that they made a bad film.