The Raja Saab Review: I didn’t go into The Raja Saab expecting a masterpiece. I saw the trailers. I knew things were shaky. But what I didn’t expect was a three-hour cinematic identity crisis that somehow cost around ₹450 crore and still looks like it was stitched together using rejected TikTok ideas.
I watched the Raja Saab movie from start to finish. No skipping. No phone scrolling. Just me, the screen, and a slow realization that my mental balance was taking a hit.
And yes, this is the same movie whose director, Maruthi, publicly said that if Prabhas fans didn’t like it, they could come to his house. After watching this, all I can say is: fans, this really is your call.
My Rating: 1.0/5
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Movie Title | The Raja Saab |
| Genre | Horror • Comedy • Fantasy |
| Language | Telugu (Dubbed in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada) |
| Director | Maruthi |
| Producer | People Media Factory |
| Lead Actor | Prabhas |
| Supporting Cast | Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani, Malavika Mohanan, Nidhhi Agerwal, Riddhi Kumar |
| Music | Thaman S |
| Runtime | Approx. 3h 10m |
| Country | India |
What Is The Raja Saab Even About? (On Paper, At Least)
On paper, this could’ve worked. The Raja Saab film follows a man dealing with his grandmother’s amnesia, ancestral property, and a dark family secret involving his grandfather, who turns out to be a greedy, tantric-obsessed man trying to control wealth and immortality even after death. There’s horror, greed, possession, generational trauma… all the ingredients are there.
That’s where the logic stops. Because instead of committing to any one genre, the movie throws everything at the screen, ghosts, tantrics, exorcism, psychiatry, random science jargon, cartoonish horror, slapstick comedy, and half-baked romance, hoping something sticks. Nothing does.
The Writing: Random Noise Masquerading as a Script
This doesn’t feel like a screenplay. It feels like someone opened their Notes app and dumped every “cool idea” they ever had without bothering to connect them. There’s no emotional flow. No character consistency. Scenes exist because the director thought they’d look fun for 30 seconds, not because they serve the story.
At one point, I genuinely felt like the director wasn’t making a movie; he was testing short-form content ideas and accidentally released them as a feature film. Connections don’t matter. Logic doesn’t matter. Consequences definitely don’t matter.
The Treatment of Women: Embarrassing, Outdated, and Tone-Deaf
This is where the film becomes actively uncomfortable to watch. The female characters exist like wardrobe props. They rotate outfits, deliver lines that mean nothing, and orbit the hero without any agency or self-respect. There’s a full-blown three-women romantic setup that makes zero emotional or narrative sense.
One woman is loyal, supportive, financially helping the hero, lying to her father for him, basically a full-time partner. He forgets her in two seconds and starts chasing another woman because… church aesthetics? Then comes a third woman who emotionally commits within days.
And the movie’s solution to this mess? Let the women decide which one he’ll “choose.” I sat there thinking: this isn’t messy writing—this is careless writing. It treats relationships like jokes and women like disposable plot devices. And no, this isn’t “bold” or “mass cinema.” It’s just lazy and dated.
Prabhas: Completely Wasted
Prabhas isn’t acting here. He looks like he wandered onto the wrong set while prepping for a different film. The performance doesn’t land, comedy doesn’t work, serious moments don’t hit, and the character itself is written so poorly that you lose all respect for him halfway through.
There’s a reason Arshad Warsi once said Prabhas looked like a Joker in another film. If he ever watches The Raja Saab, that statement will feel generous. This character makes Prabhas look childish, irresponsible, and morally hollow, and not in an intentional, layered way. Just badly written.
Supporting Cast: How Did This Happen?
Boman Irani giving a weak performance should be illegal. But here we are. Sanju Baba? Easiest paycheck of his career. He’s physically present in a few scenes, spiritually absent in most of the movie, and otherwise replaced by CGI, VFX, and green screens.
You can feel that actors were shot separately, stitched together later, and told not to ask questions.
VFX, CGI, and the “Let’s Add Everything” Syndrome
This movie treats VFX like a new toy. Ghosts popping out of walls. Random monsters. Background scores that sound suspiciously inspired by Harry Potter, Inception, Dune, and whatever horror film was trending last year.
It’s visual noise. No restraint. No cohesion. Just more, more, more, until it all becomes meaningless. At some point, your brain stops processing it and just wants it to end.
Good vs Bad In The Raja Saab
What Actually Works
| Aspect | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| Basic Concept | Ancestral greed + horror could’ve been solid |
| Budget Scale | Money was clearly spent (just not wisely) |
| A Few Visual Ideas | Isolated shots look interesting—isolated being the keyword |
| Unintentional Comedy | You will laugh, just not the way they intended |
Also Read: Top 10 Netflix Series of 2025: The Ones You’ll Regret Skipping
What Completely Fails
| Aspect | Why It Fails |
|---|---|
| Writing | No structure, no logic, no emotional payoff |
| Characterization | Everyone behaves randomly |
| Female Roles | Poorly written, disrespectful, outdated |
| Prabhas’s Role | Actively damages his screen image |
| Tone | Horror, comedy, romance—none work together |
| Editing & Pacing | Feels endless and exhausting |
| Creative Vision | Confused, insecure, and outdated |
Should You Watch The Raja Saab? Surprisingly… Yes
Not because it’s good. Watch it to understand how bad filmmaking happens at this scale. Watch it to see how careers derail when no one says “no.” Watch it as a reminder that confidence without clarity is dangerous.
If someone can make this and release it nationwide, then honestly, maybe there’s hope for the rest of us. Just go in prepared. Three hours. Strong nerves required.
Final Verdict On The Raja Saab
The Raja Saab isn’t a movie; it’s a warning. A warning about unchecked ego, lazy writing, and how money can’t save a broken vision. The fact that a sequel has already been announced almost feels like performance art at this point.
If this sets the benchmark for “bad films” in 2026, then congratulations, new standards have been achieved. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to cleanse my brain with some black-and-white European arthouse cinema before I trust mainstream films again. Let me know in the comments if you survived it too.