The RajaSaab Movie Review | Kairam Vaashi | THR India

Kairam Vaashi reviews The Raja Saab, directed by Maruthi and starring Prabhas. The film follows Raju, whose sole mission is to reunite his Alzheimer's-afflicted grandmother Gangamma, played beautifully by Zarina Wahab, with her long-lost husband Kanakaraju, played by Sanjay Dutt. Kairam admits he was nervous about this project from day one, questioning whether Maruthi could deliver a Prabhas film given the director hadn't previously worked with a Telugu Tier-1 star or handled films of this scale. Unfortunately, those fears have largely been realised.

Kairam finds the second half genuinely fun once the characters enter a haunted palace, with engaging mind-game sequences between Sanjay and Boman Irani, and between Sanjay and Prabhas forming the strongest dramatic portions. However, the first half struggles with a lack of focus as it plods through Nidhhi Agerwal's track, Malavika Mohanan's track, and Samuthirakani appearing in and out of the narrative without real dramatic or comedic energy. While Kairam gives kudos to Prabhas for choosing a film outside his familiar action-gangster zone, he notes the star doesn't appear comfortable in songs and lacks his full vigour. Thaman's music, particularly "Rebel Saab" and "Sahana," sounds good on the big screen, but the picturisation could have been far better. Kairam concludes that in The Raja Saab, the second half is the Raja, the first half is the sob, making it a middling outing for Prabhas.