Young Rebel Star Prabhas is happy and relaxed these days. He is basking in the glory of his latest blockbuster ‘Mirchi’ and is excited at the same time about his upcoming project ‘Baahubali’. We caught up with Prabhas today for a brief interview. The actor was sporting a full beard and heavily muscled arms. See what he had to say about ‘Mirchi’, his upcoming film ‘Baahubali’ and his career choices in general.
Q. Looks like you are working out heavily..
A. (Smiles). Yes. I am doing some very rigorous work outs to change my body structure. It is for my upcoming film ‘Baahubali’. I will sport a very muscular look for that movie
Q. Now that Mirchi has been declared a blockbuster, how do you feel?
A. I am very happy. Normally, I share my success with my closest friends and cousins. But because I made this film with my cousins and friends, this success is doubly special for me.
Q. Some people have called ‘Mirchi’ a ‘one man show’. What is your comment?
A. I don’t agree to that statement. It can never be a one man show. It will always be a team effort. Take Anushka for example. Crowds are whistling for her entry scenes. That shows how much star power she has. Can you still call it a one man show?
Q. What according to you, is the best part about Mirchi?
A. The narration. I really liked the way in which this story was narrated. It was fresh and quite novel for me. And people are enjoying the film, so I guess they like it as well.
Q. The story seems to have some similarities with other Telugu films. What do you say?
A. (Smiles) This is a commercial cinema. Any big commercial cinema with entertainment as primary motive will have a few references to other stories. That is not a problem in my book, as long as there is something new in terms of screenplay or presentation. If you want all films to have totally fresh stories, we must make one film every 3 years like Mr. Aamir Khan does (smiles again)
Q. Will you stick to commercial entertainers or will you attempt parallel cinema too?
A. I will not act in parallel cinema or in art films. I will stick to entertainers. I will experiment within the limits of my image. For example, ‘Darling’ and ‘Mr. Perfect’ were experiments for me since I attempted family drama. I may never do a film like ‘Chakram’ again
Q. Won’t you get bored with the same kind of roles then?
A, I did get bored after a string of action films and that is why I opted to do films like ‘Darling’ and ‘Mr. Perfect’. I got my kick and I am now working for an action entertainer ‘Baahubali’. In future, I may try something different again. But whatever I do, I will ensure that it will be an entertaining flick for my fans and for viewers.
Q. You have the title ‘Young Rebel Star’. Are you happy with that?
A. (Thinks) You see, I am never really comfortable with titles. If left to me, I will simply use Prabhas. I tried to convince my friends to drop ‘Young Rebel Star’ for ‘Mirchi’ but they convinced me otherwise. My fans love that title and they did not want to disappoint them. I agreed to it. My fans are most important to me and whatever they like is what I will like. (laughs)
Q. How crucial are the technical departments for the success of a film?
A. Technicians are very very important for a film. They don’t often get recognition but their work often makes or breaks a film. Take an editor for example. The final output of the film is nothing but the editor’s vision. Editing is extremely crucial and only a competent editor can judge what to keep and what to chop off in a film. Another crucial part of a film’s success is the cinematographer. Before even starting ‘Mirchi’, we decided to bring in one of the best cinematographers in India – R. Madhi. I saw his work in ‘Shaitan’ and was bowled over by his work.
Q. You seem to have a good track record with DSP…
A. Devi Sri Prasad is an integral part of this film’s success. As you said, he has composed a number of chart-busting songs for me over the past few years. In ‘Mirchi’, ‘Pandagala’ and ‘Kaatuka Kallu’ are my favourite numbers followed by ‘Darlingey’.
Q. You will be seen together with Rana Daggubati in ‘Baahubali’ . Is he going to be your opponent in the film?
A. (grins) I can’t reveal anything about it yet. All I can say is that fans will have some terrific scenes to look forward to. Rana is a good friend and we are training together for the sword fights and the horse riding sequences.
Q. Rajamouli is in terrific form. You have just scored a blockbuster. Expectations are bound to be huge over ‘Baahubali’…
A. Yes. But Rajamouli is a master director who knows his stuff. He is very passionate about his work and I trust him completely. In fact, my priority in life right now is to make him feel as comfortable as possible (smiles) . I will not disturb him in any way and I will not work in any other film until ‘Baahubali’ is complete.
Q. Is Anushka your favourite co – star?
A. (Laughs) Yes. I feel very comfortable working with her. She is a great person to be with and she makes everyone on the set feel at ease.
Q. Your fan base is increasing tremendously and so is your Box Office Stamina . Are you a part of the No.1 race now?
A. Define No. 1 first. According to me, a No. 1 is someone who stays at the top and rules the industry for 10 – 20 years irrespective of hits or flops. If I or for that matter some other hero gets two or three hits continuously, it can’t be called a number one position. I don’t see myself there now (Smiles)
Q. When will you marry? Most of your friends and co-stars have already settled down..
A. “Vallu edho cheskunnarani nenu cheskunte bagodhu ga” (Smiles). I will marry when I feel like it. It won’t be this year. Maybe next year.
Q. Will the ‘rain fight’ in Mirchi be added now?
A. I don’t want to be the person talking about it. Director Koratala Siva will reveal more details about it at the right time.
Q. Any regrets about your career so far?
A. (Thinks)… Well, I am happy with how things have turned out. But I wish I had paid more attention to some of the scripts I selected. I won’t elaborate but I guess you can understand (smiles)
Q. Will you ever come on to Twitter? A lot of fans have asked me to put this question to you.
A. Well, maybe next year. Maybe after ‘Baahubali’. I don’t know. I haven’t thought too much about it.
Q. Do flops affect you or have you learned to deal with them as occupational hazards?
A. No, flops affect me and I take them very seriously. I care about my producers and the people around me. I try to see what went wrong and I try to avoid those mistakes for my future projects.
Q. Congratulations for the success of Mirchi and good luck for ‘Baahubali’.
A. Thank you very much (Smiles)
So there you have it folks. We heard a lot about Prabhas’s humble nature and his friendly attitude. We came away totally impressed after witnessing both the attributes. We hope you enjoyed reading our conversation with Prabhas.
Interviewed by Mahesh S Koneru
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