5 Prabhas Films to Watch From Before ‘Baahubali’

It may have taken two back-to-back blockbusters with the Baahubali films for Prabhas to become a pan-Indian superstar, but the seeds had already been planted for this actor to make it big when his time came in 2015.

An example of this is the huge number of YouTube views his Telugu films have garnered as Hindi dubs, even though they were not the biggest hits upon their original release. Although his post-Baahubali phase has been shaky with lukewarm performers like Saaho (2019), Radhe Shyam (2022) and Adipurush (2023), there is a series of films before this where one could see an actor who was willing to take risks. Here are five hits from this phase: 

Varsham.

Varsham (2004) 

After a nervous start in 2002, it took until his third film, Varsham, for the actor to find his footing in the Telugu film industry. He was 23, young, charming and some of his romantic scenes with Trisha Krishnan, especially those set in a train, remain fresh even today. Inventiveness in the writing — like how the couple always met when it rained — gave the film some moments that worked beyond its violence (he has to fight a powerful politician, who also happens to love the same woman). The proof of this lies in the fact that it was remade in Hindi as Baaghi (2016) — another blockbuster. 

Chatrapathi.

Chatrapathi (2006)

It took two more flops for Prabhas to return with another blockbuster — this time with S.S. Rajamouli — a decade before Baahubali. The film had everything going for it, including the story of a wounded refugee, a jealous brother, an adopted son in search of his mother and some Rajamouli-esque action sequences. His heroic entry, in which he rides a CGI shark onto a ship, may not have aged too well, but it is bucketloads of fun. The violence worked just as well as the ‘amma sentiment’, making it a hit so big that he had to wait for another decade to taste the same amount of success.

Billa (2009) 

Perhaps a controversial addition to this list, but what else does one call a film that has amassed over 120 million views on YouTube with just its Hindi dub? The film was surely a hit, even though other updates of the original Don had been released earlier in the form of Don (2006) in Hindi and as Billa (2007) in Tamil. The result was still a fresh and stylish take featuring a look that took Prabhas outside his home state. 

Darling.

Darling (2010) / Mr. Perfect (2011)

Among his fans outside of the two Telugu-speaking states, both Darling (2010) — where his character was called “Prabha” — and the following Mr. Perfect (2011) are what made him somewhat of an audience’s darling. One got to see him thrive in less serious settings, as both romances were released after a series of heavy-duty action dramas. He joked, he laughed, and he played characters that allowed him to relax. G.V. Prakash Kumar’s music added to Darling’s appeal. He repeated some of the coolth in Mr. Perfect, in which he played the owner of a cool gaming company obsessed with perfection. It was this Prabhas that one had expected to see glimpses of in Radhe Shyam. But that wasn’t to be. 

Mirchi.

Mirchi (2013)

However, one would see none of that in Koratala Siva’s hyper-violent Mirchi, another superhit, which went on to become one of the biggest-ever box office hits upon release. This was another factionist revenge drama about a violent past, warring families and an “amma” sentiment (or scenes based around the hero’s love for his mother) that actually worked. Prabhas’s Jai broke as many records as he did bones, setting the stage for Baahubali two years later.