Only yesterday we were talking about the headaches for top stars (Check here) due to lack of big directors like the previous two decades. There is a shortage, no doubt, and that is making planning a key thing. However, there is another option, and Prabhas ( Pawan Kalyan previously) is showing it in reality. It doesn’t require shrewd planning this way. Things happen on the go.
The second option is to work with newcomers or emerging talents who are still unproven on the big league. In the past, our current top stars worked with newcomers. Pawan Kalyan and Jr NTR instantly come to our mind. The former more so as he still continues to do significant work with unproven names. There is always an air of unpredictability with these projects. When they work, it creates magic and gives the star a huge lift. When they don’t, the ‘star’ moves to his next, as his ‘openings’ do the talking.
Today, Prabhas is doing the same. In the last decade, he is the only actor along with Allu Arjun to launch a director. But, that was before Baahubali movies. To do a film with Sujeeth and Radha Krishna post-Baahubali, well that is in the Pawan Kalyan zone, but on a bigger scale. Now a science-fiction with Nag Ashwin joins the list.
The trust here is on the star power to give openings and the director to deliver the content. It is a risk. Because when it is a top director, there is an assurance over the latter (content) and it helps in the long run, and opening day, as well.
With Pawan Kalyan, the content didn’t arrive for a long period, and it became all about openings. The fans always say ‘if the movie had got talk’, things would have been different. We are already witnessing that with Prabhas, as well. Saaho is the existing proof. The next in the line might (or might not) add to the list. There will always be unpredictability.
But the openings will stay at record levels, and as they will be arriving without combo power, the star status gets elevated further. In the past, Pawan Kalyan with his opening records, always posed a question to the number 1 debate. When he delivered, he looked like an inevitable choice. No one could be at the top without surpassing them consistently, even though they sometimes had better long-run records. Thus, the number one spot remained ambiguous in Telugu cinema.
With the two Baahubali’s behind and continued (expected) record openers, Prabhas would stay at the top. Will he add long-run records and surpass Baahubali (or existing top one’s in Telugu) will cement his position. With no debate on either end – opening or the long run, the current decade should end the number 1 debate in Telugu cinema.
It is what makes the current decade the most exciting (and probably frustrating) period for the fans of the Rebel star.
