The Raja Saab kicks off with a mix of emotion and the supernatural that grabs your attention right away. The setup has all the makings of a great horror comedy, but the movie can’t quite stick the landing.
Director: Maruthi Dasari
Star cast: Prabhas, Sanjay Dutt, Malavika Mohanan, Nidhhi Agerwal, Riddhi Kumar, Zarina Wahab
Runtime: 3 hrs 6 mins
Where to watch: In cinemas
Rating: 3 stars
Raju (Prabhas), a restless, impulsive, and connected to his grandmother Gangamma (Zarina Wahab), once a powerful zamindar, now living in poverty and fading health. She’s convinced their family’s bad luck started when a sacred necklace was stolen, which pulls Raju into a family mystery tangled up with his missing grandfather, Kanakraju (Sanjay Dutt). What starts out as a search soon turns into something darker, touching on family legacy and a few supernatural twists. The Raja Saab kicks off with a mix of emotion and the supernatural that grabs your attention right away.
The setup has all the makings of a great horror comedy, but the movie can’t quite stick the landing. The Raja Saab has a vision of being the biggest horror comedy, but the final ‘muddled’ execution kills the fun, ending up being a strictly average film, caters to die-hard fans only. The first half builds the world well enough and gets you interested in the characters. But after a while, the story starts to lose focus. The second half, especially, drags things out. The pacing gets sluggish, and you can feel the tension slipping away. By the time the movie ramps up for the big finish, it’s tough not to feel a little worn out—even though the stakes keep rising.
Prabhas usually anchors films like this, but here he feels weirdly muted, especially before the climax. He’s solid, but that early spark is missing just when the movie needs him to light things up. Sanjay Dutt brings some weight to the flashback sections, but his villain sticks to a familiar, one-note menace, so he never really becomes as interesting or complex as you’d hope.
Malavika Mohanan, Nidhhi Agerwal, and Riddhi Kumar look great on screen, but the script never gives them much to do. Their characters hint at having more going on, but they end up serving the story instead of driving it, so there’s not much room for them to make a lasting impression. And dropping two songs into the already slow second half just bogs things down further and snaps whatever flow the narrative had left.
On the technical side, things look better. The VFX are genuinely impressive for a homegrown horror-fantasy and look great on the big screen. The climax stands out—visually bold and conceptually strong—so you do get a worthwhile payoff, even if you’re running low on patience by then. Director Maruti shows moments of restraint and style, but the balancing act between horror, comedy, emotion, and fantasy doesn’t always land.
In the end, The Raja Saab feels like a movie that had all the right pieces for a standout horror comedy, but just can’t put them together consistently. There’s craftsmanship here, a strong climax, and flashes that work, but the messy script and sluggish second half hold it back. If you’re a Prabhas fan, you’ll have a good time watching it in theatres. For everyone else, it’s an okay one-time watch—not something you’ll rush to recommend. Overall, The Raja Saab will be best enjoyed by Prabhas’ fans, but for an avid moviegoer, it’s an average flick that could have been the biggest horror-comedy.
