Prabhas

Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju ( born 23 October 1979), known mononymously as Prabhas, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema and has been featured in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2015. Referred to in the media as the "Rebel Star", he has appeared in over 20 films, and has received seven Filmfare Awards nominations, a Nandi Award, and a SIIMA Award.

Prabhas made his acting debut with the drama Eeswar (2002), and later attained his breakthrough with the action romance Varsham (2004). He went on to star in other commercially successful films such as Chatrapathi (2005), Bujjigadu (2008), Billa (2009), Darling (2010), Mr. Perfect (2011), and Mirchi (2013), winning the Nandi Award for Best Actor for his performance in the lattermost. He went on to play a dual role in the epic action duology Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017), with the latter emerging as the highest-grossing Indian film at that point, establishing Prabhas as the first pan-Indian star. After a brief period of decline, he made a career comeback with the action drama Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire (2023) and the science fiction film Kalki 2898 AD (2024).

Prabhas is the only Indian actor to have six ₹100+ crore opening films worldwide. He is also the only South Indian actor to have six films that crossed the ₹100 crore mark in the Hindi market. Prabhas is the first South Indian actor to receive a wax sculpture at Madame Tussaud's wax museum.

Early life and education
Prabhas was born on 23 October 1979 in a Telugu family to film producer Uppalapati Surya Narayana Raju and Siva Kumari in Madras, Tamil Nadu. The youngest of three children, he has an elder brother, Prabodh, and elder sister, Pragathi. He is the nephew of Telugu film actor Krishnam Raju. His family hails from Mogalthur, near Bhimavaram of West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh.

Prabhas did his schooling at Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai, and at DNR High School, Bhimavaram. He then completed his intermediate education from Nalanda College, Hyderabad. He later went on to pursue Bachelor of Technology (BTech) from Sri Chaitanya College, Hyderabad. He is also an alumnus of Satyanand Film Institute, Visakhapatnam.

2002–2014: Early work and career progression
Prabhas made his debut with the action drama Eeswar (2002). In 2003, he was the lead in Raghavendra. In 2004, he appeared in Varsham and Adavi Raamudu. He received his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for his performance in the former. In 2005, he appeared in Chakram and in the film Chatrapathi, directed by S. S. Rajamouli, in which he portrays the role of a refugee, exploited by goons. It had a 100-day run in 54 centers. Idlebrain.com stated that he had a unique style and macho charm in his screen presence. Chatrapathi earned him his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu.

Later, he starred in the dance drama Pournami (2006), the action film Yogi (2007) and the action drama Munna (2007). This was followed by the action-comedy Bujjigadu in 2008. In 2009, his two films were Billa and Ek Niranjan. Indiaglitz called Billa "stylish and visually rich". Ek Niranjan earned him his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu.

In 2010, he appeared in the romantic comedy Darling which received positive reviews upon release. The Times of India gave a 2.5 star rating explaining "Director Karunakaran extracts good performances from his actors, but can't come up with a refreshing plot. It looks like the director hasn't really come out of his Tholi Prema hangover as he dishes out yet another one-sided love saga but fails to come up with a valid and logical reason to make a GenZ lad to hold back his feelings for his lover until the last moment. However, he compensates it all, by adding loads of fun moments in the film and the screenplay does have its share of some touching moments."

In 2011, he appeared in another romantic comedy Mr. Perfect. The review site GreatAndhra rated the film with three stars and noted "The film comes across as a clean, family entertainer and the intention of the makers must be appreciated. His performance in the film earned him his fourth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu.

In 2012, Prabhas starred in Rebel, an action film directed by Raghava Lawrence. Sashidhar from The Times of India stated, "The film belongs to hard-core Prabhas fans as the movie is stylish and visually rich but not much in content". Purnima Ranawat from NDTV said, "Rebel serves up fare for the mass audience. The film will be definitely liked by Prabhas' fans. Watch it for the dancing talent of Tamannaah Bhatia and action skills of Prabhas." Radhika Rajamani from Rediff.com gave the movie 1.5 stars out of five and said, "Working with hardly any storyline, director Raghava Lawrence had made a film that is arduous to watch... Rebel is a movie for the masses and certainly not for the discerning audience." He also rendered voice for a short cameo for the film Denikaina Ready (2012).

In 2013, Prabhas starred in Mirchi. Jeevi of Idlebrain.com gave a rating of 3.25 out of 5, commenting that "First half of Mirchi is decent. Flashback episodes which occupies the lion's share of the second half is good. Climax could have been better. The plus points of the film are Prabhas, music and all-round orientation. On a whole, Mirchi has all the ingredients of a commercial potboiler". Mahesh S Koneru gave his verdict that "At the box office, the film will turn in a good commercial performance", giving the film a score of 3.25/5. Way2movies also gave a rating of 3.25/5, giving the verdict that "Prabhas rocks the show in this decent yet formulaic commercial entertainer". SuperGoodMovies gave the film 3 stars in a scale of 5, reviewing that "Go and Watch Mirchi, It entertains both class and mass. It is a worth watch." His performance in the film earned him his fifth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu. He then made his Hindi cinema debut in 2014 in the special dance number "Punjabi Mast" from the film Action Jackson.

2015–2017: Pan-India success
In 2015, Prabhas played a dual role as Shivudu/Mahendra Baahubali and Amarendra Baahubali in S.S. Rajamouli's epic action drama Baahubali: The Beginning (2015). With a budget of ₹180 crore ($28 million), it was the most expensive Indian film ever made at the time of release, and became a record-breaking box office success. The film eventually grossed over inr 6000000000 worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Telugu film and the second highest-grossing Indian film at that point. It is one of the highest-grossing Indian film to date. The film started a new film movement called Pan-Indian films.

Prabhas reprised his role in its sequel, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017), with a budget of ₹250 crore ($36.87 million), it was the most expensive Indian film ever produced at the time of release. It became the first Indian film ever to gross over ₹1,000 crore (US$120 million) worldwide in just ten days, first Indian film to gross inr 1000000000 and inr 2000000000 on its opening day, and highest-grossing Indian film at that point. The film eventually grossed over inr 18100000000 worldwide, making it second-highest-grossing Indian film worldwide to date and the highest-grossing film in India till date.

Prabhas dedicated five years for the duology as he states that the project demanded a certain level of dedication. He increased his weight to 105 kg for Amarendra Baahubali's character. He won the SIIMA Award for Best Actor – Telugu for his performance in ''The Conclusion. '' His performance in both film earned him his sixth and seventh nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu. The success of Baahubali propelled Prabhas to become the first “Pan-Indian star”, receiving significant following across India.

2018–present: Setback and resurgence
In 2019, Prabhas starred in Sujeeth's action thriller Saaho. Saaho opened to mixed reviews and grossed ₹130 crore worldwide on its opening day, making it Prabhas's second ₹100 crore opening day grosser. The film eventually grossed over inr 4190000000 at the box-office. The Telugu version of the film became an above average grosser, while the Hindi version was commercially successful. In 2022, Prabhas appeared in Radha Krishna's period romance drama Radhe Shyam which received poor reviews from critics & proved to be a box office bomb. In 2023, Prabhas portrayed Lord Ram in the mythological action film Adipurush, an adaptation of Hindu epic the Ramayana. It received highly negative response from critics as well as the audience and turned out to be another box-office bomb for the actor. Adipurush opened to ₹140 crore worldwide on its opening day, making it Prabhas's third ₹100 crore opening day grosser.

Post the debacle of Adipurush, Prabhas starred in the Prashanth Neel's action drama Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire, the same year. The film opened to positive reviews and grossed ₹176 crore worldwide on its opening day, making it Prabhas's fourth ₹100 crore opening day grosser. The film eventually grossing over inr 7050000000 worldwide and proving to be a comeback film for him. In 2024, he starred in Nag Ashwin's epic science fiction film Kalki 2898 AD. Made on a inr 6000000000 production budget, it is the most expensive Indian film. Kalki 2898 AD grossed ₹191 crore worldwide on its opening day, which was the third highest first day gross for an Indian film, and making it the fifth and third consecutive ₹100 crore opener worldwide for Prabhas, a feat unheard of in Indian cinema. Rahul Malhotra of Collider quotes that Kalki 2898 AD’s resounding opening cements "Prabhas as one of the biggest Indian movie stars of his generation".

Humanitarian and social causes
Prabhas donated inr 40000000 for the cause of combating against the COVID-19 pandemic. Of this, ₹3 crore was given to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund, while ₹50 lakh each went to the Chief Minister Relief Funds of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. In 2020, Prabhas adopted 1,650 acres of Khazipally Reserve Forest near Hyderabad and donated inr 20000000 for the development of the eco-park in the name of his late father Uppalapati Surya Narayana Raju. Prabhas donated a total of inr 800000 to the Lions Club of Hyderabad Sadhuram Eye Hospital. In 2021, he donated inr 10000000 to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) to help all those who have been affected due to the heavy rainfall in several parts of the state.

Media image and other work
Prabhas is the first Indian actor ever to be referred to as “Pan-India” star. Film journalists and analysts, such as Baradwaj Rangan and Vishal Menon, have labelled him as the first of the kind in Indian cinema. Prabhas is considered as "a flagbearer of introducing the trend of Pan-India films in the nation".

Prabhas is referred to in the media and by his fans as the "Rebel Star" and "Darling". He was ranked second in Times' for the year 2017, and twelfth in 2018. He was then added to the Forever Desirable list of Hyderabad Times in 2019. He was the most searched actor on Google in Karnataka, for the year 2019. He is the only actor from South Indian cinema to feature in the magazine Eastern Eye 2019 listing of the 10 Sexiest Asian Men. He was also featured in the GQ in their listing of the most influential young Indians of 2017.

Prabhas, generally does not endorse brands or appear in advertisements. However, in 2015, he was signed on by Mahindra & Mahindra as brand ambassador for the new Mahindra TUV300 car, making his debut in the television commercial arena. News 18 reported that he rejected brand endorsements worth inr 1500000000 in 2020.