Prabhas says Rajamouli encouraged him to do ‘Salaar’

Prabhas says he often seeks advice from SS Rajamouli on his future projects and when filmmaker Prashanth Neel approached the actor for Salaar, the Baahubali director asked him to grab the opportunity with both hands.

Prabhas and Neel are awaiting the release of Salaar: Part 1 - Ceasefire, which hits the screens on Friday. It also stars Prithviraj Sukumaran and Shruti Haasan.

The team of Salaar sat for a conversation moderated by Rajamouli.

In the video shared by production house Hombale Films on its official X page, Prabhas praised Neel of KGF films fame for crafting Salaar as a beautiful drama.

“Prashanth sir did extraordinary drama, especially me and Prithvi sir. The whole story is between us... There is a beautiful drama between me, the mother, and Shruti Haasan. He is very good in drama, even in KGF we see (drama)...

“I think he got inspired from you (Rajamouli) also because he used to talk about you... When we thought we'd do (Salaar), I called Rajamouli. I always call him. I was like, ‘Prashanth wants to do a film’, and he was like, ‘Don't even think, just do it’,” Prabhas said.

The actor also recalled how life changed for him after the phenomenal success of Rajamouli's two-part period action drama Baahubali.

"After Baahubali, it was really tough. I didn't know what to do. Suddenly, I went from the Telugu industry to India to Japan. I went to Italy and abroad. It is very comfortable because no one knows us there.

"In Italy, I was standing outside a Dolce Gabbana store and suddenly a man came, couldn't even speak English and he said 'Prabhas'. He didn't say Baahubali, he said Prabhas. I was like 'Rajamouli, I can't even live here.' But it's so exciting. I thought 'Rajamouli, one film, that's it'," he added.

Set in the fictional city of Khansaar, Salaar revolves around two friends Deva and Vardha, played by Prabhas and Prithviraj, who end up becoming arch-rivals.

Prithviraj, known for films such as Lucifer and Ayyappanum Koshiyum, likened the upcoming film to the American epic fantasy series Game of Thrones.

"I keep comparing Salaar to Game of Thrones because the drama is like... There are so many characters, plot points, and intricate character dynamics. I don't know how he (the director) has fit the story into two parts. It's a tough thing to do," he said.

Salaar also stars Eshwari Rao, Jagapathi Babu, and Sriya Reddy.