Maruthi’s latest directorial is a high concept horror comedy with elements of hypnotism and the power of human emotions: the results though are quite mixed. The emotional bond between Prabhas and Zarina Wahab has been etched well aided by strong performances. But the listless romantic subplots along with the songs slacken the narrative making it somewhat tedious.

Starcast: Prabhas, Zarina Wahab, Sanjay Dutt, Malivaka Mohanan and others

Genre: Horror comedy/drama

Director and writer: Maruthi

Producers: TG Vishwa Prasad, Vivek Kuchibotla and Ishan Saksena

Production Companies: People Media Factory and IV Entertainment

Music: S Thaman

Cinematography: Karthik Palani

Running time: 3 hours and 10 minutes

Maruthi has had an interesting journey starting from the low budget Ee Rojullo in 2012. Since then, he has grown by leaps and bounds directing films with stars. His heroes especially in Bhale Bhale Magadivoy and Mahanubavudu come with certain quirks. These quirks have generated ample chuckles making him a mostly successful director. The hero characterization in his latest The Raja Saab has elements which the director known for. At the same though the film’s commercial elements feel like a story force fitted into the mold of pan India cinema. This holds especially true of the three female leads presented in a very glamorous and sexually overt manner with little substance.

The story of The Raja Saab primarily focuses on Prabhas Raju and Zarina Wahab’s Gangamma. Gangamma is an Alzheimer’s patient needing constant care. She has a deep attachment to her husband’s memories played by Sanjay Dutt. We are initially given the impression of Sanjay Dutt’s character Kankaraju being a good person but as the movie progresses different layers come out. Raju’s desperate search for his grandfather leads to Hyderabad where secrets are unleveled about his grandfather’s dark past and how this ultimately shapes up the battle between grandfather and grandson.

The spine of The Raja Saab is undoubtedly the strong emotional thread between Prabhas and veteran actress Zarina Wahab. Their scenes together are both funny and moving. Raju’s constant frustration with Gangamma’s Alzheimer’s with her talks about the grand past along with her husband raises ample chuckles. For example, there is a scene early on where Raju threatens to walk out of the house annoyed with his grandmother’s nature. This is followed by a poignant moment of her making a promise to never bring up the topic again and then immediately forgetting. This leaves Raju bewildered.

Coming to the drama part the elongated pre climax stretch with shades of the Hollywood movie Inception as well our own Arundati is emotionally stirring. There is an extreme helplessness to Raju making the viewers feel for him, the viewers cheer for Raju when he finally finds a way to defeat Kankaraju and also saves his grandmother.

Zarina Wahab in the stretch resembling Arundhati is seen in a royal avatar, and the senior actress brings in the required authority with her voice modulation. The way she propels Raju to fight back in spite of all the hurdles is a delight to watch.

This stretch also has some fantastic action set pieces and good use of visual effects. Maruthi’s potential as a mainstream director can be felt here in the way he combines scale with content. However, it also has to be said that the direction is very inconsistent something which I will get to later.

Prabhas as Raju is refreshing to watch in a different avatar. The roles has different shades whether it’s being goofy, vulnerable and a strong fighting spirit driven by his love for grandmother. Prabhas is successful in bringing alive all these shades. Much like Kalki 2898AD the character here too isn’t invincible, and this comes out on more than one occasion.

Zarina Wahab brings in a much-needed depth as the Alzheimer’s patient. Her longing for Kanakaraju not knowing the reality of her husband makes the viewers feel for her.

Sanjay Dutt as Kanakaraju is successful in making the viewers detest him. It’s not the most unique role but Sanjay Dutt plays the part with the required abandon. He makes for more than a worthy opponent with his mind games and a strong ability in hypnotizing people. A particular mention must be of the scene between him and Boman Irani. It’s high on psychological play making the viewers anxious on how Raju will eventually defeat Kanakaraju.

A major problem with The Raja Saab are the forced commercial elements. The comedy hits the mark on numerous occasions thanks to Prabhas comic timing as well as the combination scenes with Saptagari and Prabhas Seenu. But the major issue here are the three heroines. None of them share any chemistry with the leading man. Malavika somewhat fares better than Nidhi and Riddhi Kumar. She gets a solid action sequence but soon the character becomes just like any other mainstream heroine.

The scenes of jealousy between Nidhi and Malavika with Raju caught in a thug of war makes the proceedings excruciating to say the least. The sudden appearance of Riddhi Kumar in the haunted haveli making it a quadrangle coupled with the song Nache Nache just makes the viewers impatient.

Even the misunderstanding between Prabhas and Nidhi leading to a quick separation just like the beginning of their love makes the viewers scratch their brains. The editing honestly needed to be much tighter cutting off the unnecessary fluff. The Raja Saab is again a reminder on how these big ventures are treating its heroines unlike the smaller films. Case in point last years The Girlfriend, Paradha and even the teenage rom com Little Hearts.

None of Thaman S songs make any impression, the background score though is much better especially in the climatic portions.

Final word: The Raja Saab is a worthy experiment from Prabhas but could have been a more wholesome experience.