I’ll be a misfit in present-day politics: Prabhas

Action star Prabhas who is ruling the roost is all excited about the release of his magnum opus Baahubali 2: The Conclusion on April 28. He describes Baahubali as a ‘multi-character driven’ film and not just the story of two protagonists. He also shares his views on S S Rajamouli, his experience of working on Baahubali and his bunch of 20-odd friends with whom he chills out but rubbishes plans to join politics, in his interaction with Sridhar Adivi.

What is the uniqueness of Baahubali that has appealed to all sections of audiences?
Baahubali is not a conventional hero-heroine story. There are so many pivots around which the movie revolves including Amarender Baahubali, Bhallala Deva, Sivagami, Katappa, Devayani, Avanthika etc. The character of Baahubali may be central to the film but the other characters are equally important and that is the beauty of the script.

How worried were you with respect to the risk involved in the project?
In all honesty, the entire risk lay with the producers. Here was a project where they were pumping in money on an unprecedented scale with absolutely no guarantee of returns. For Rajamouli and me, it would have been a major setback if the first part hadn’t done well, but for producers it would have devastating.

There were people who wondered if the second part would ever happen, if the first part didn’t do well and it was a valid point too. Therefore, I was very tense on the eve of release of the first part but now I am a bit relaxed. You have hand it to the producers! They absolutely believed in Rajamouli’s vision and backed him to the hilt.

Could you pinpoint some of the key challenges faced by Rajamouli for the movie?
I think Rajamouli spent at least fifteen days thinking about where to end the first part. See, it had to be perfectly-planned so that people are geared for the second part. The vision and effort went into conceiving and executing the project cannot be expressed in words. In fact, Karan Johar said it reminded him of ‘Avatar’. Such was Rajamouli’s vision! After this movie, I can get back to work after a short break but for Rajamouli, I think it will take a minimum of six months.

How would you sum up your overall experience of working on the movie?
I never enjoyed going to school but Baahubali was a unique learning experience for me. I thoroughly enjoyed each day of the shoot. It was a privilege to work on such a movie of international standards. I am proud of being a part of ‘Baahubali’ but take no pride in etching out the character of Baahubali. I did not conceive the script or my character. My only contribution to Baahubali was the time I had allotted for the film.

Do you see yourself doing more Baahubali-like films in future?
I think I’ll die if I do one more film like ‘Baahubali’.... (Laughs). But seriously, it is not easy to replicate Baahubali. I think only Rajamouli has the experience currently of handling such projects. In Hollywood, huge movies are completed in just four months because the makers would have planned and completed their pre-production in six months perfectly.

I think Rajamouli did that with Baahubali and we can do such films in future if we manage to adhere strictly to the timeline. nd its impact on your career?

We are a gang of about 20 friends and they have been a huge strength of support to me over the years. But for their constant support and presence, I honestly feel that I would have broken down at some point in my career. For instance, my friend Lakshman Reddy was by my side throughout the shooting of the movie. He was a huge pillar of support to me.

Now that you are a national star, any political plans in the offing?
I have absolutely no such plans since I would be a complete misfit in the political arena.