Is ‘Raja Saab’ star Prabhas repeating superstar Salman Khan’s biggest career mistake?

After dominating the Indian box office and emerging as one of the biggest pan-India superstars, Rebel star and everyone’s favourite Darling Prabhas is once again under the spotlight, this time for the choices shaping his career. 

Parallels between Prabhas’ recent trajectory and superstar and Bollywood Bhaijaan Salman Khan’s post-2010–2017 phase raise serious concerns about whether history could repeat itself.

Salman's Massive Stardom

Salman Khan, after enjoying an extraordinary run of blockbusters between 2010 and 2017, continued to deliver massive openings but gradually lost audience goodwill due to weakly executed films. Movies like Race 3 (Remo D’Souza), Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (Farhad Samji), and Dabangg 3 (Prabhu Deva) may have opened big at the box office, but their lack of strong storytelling and directorial vision led to diminishing long-term impact and audience fatigue.

Also Read: Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit: Gritty first glimpse drops, Prabhas and Triptii Dimri ignite a storm of expectations

Fans are worried now that Prabhas now stands at a similar crossroads. Despite his global recognition and unmatched opening-day pull, films such as Radhe Shyam, Adipurush, and most recently ‘The Raja Saab’ failed to meet expectations, both critically and commercially.

Prabhas Upcoming Lineups

Fans believe that relying solely on star power without solid content risks eroding audience trust, an issue Salman Khan faced in the latter part of his peak years. Now, worried fans are writing open letters to Prabhas to choose his scripts and directors wisely.

Fortunately, Prabhas is very likely to bounce back with his upcoming lineups that are director-driven and content-focused cinema. His future projects include Spirit with Sandeep Reddy Vanga, Salaar 2 with Prashanth Neel, Kalki 2 under Nag Ashwin, and FauZi directed by Hanu Raghavapudi.

If Prabhas continues to make calculated, content-first choices, there is no doubt that he will emerge as the biggest superstar and his resurgence is not a matter of doubt, but only a matter of time.