Director Maruthi’s statements at the pre-release event of The Raja Saab have stirred an intense debate among the followers of Prabhas, after he gave the credit for the actor becoming a pan-India star to the director SS Rajamouli.

At the event in Hyderabad on Saturday, December 27, Maruthi greeted Rajamouli for attracting the global audience of Telugu cinema to the whole world. Maruthi, whilst recalling a particular incident during his trip to an extremely isolated area in South Africa, said that the native people hailed Prabhas as the “Baahubali hero,” which is an undeniable indication of the huge worldwide acceptance of the actor in the megahit movie series.

In addition, Maruthi stated that it was none other than Rajamouli who made the transformation of Prabhas from what he called a “medium-range hero” to a pan-India superstar. He said that the director’s vision and dedication not only lifted Prabhas but also the entire Telugu cinema that was already in the process of the current pan-India wave.

However, the remark did not go well with a section of Prabhas’ fans who vented their displeasure on social media. Quite a few of them highlighted that the actor had already been a star with a staggering number of awards prior to the Baahubali trilogy, and that was even the case in his films such as Varsham, Chhatrapati, Darling, and Mirchi among others. Besides, some fans even reasoned that the actor had a strong following and could easily attract audiences to the theaters even before he teamed up with Rajamouli.

Along with this, there were several film lovers who defended Maruthi, saying his comment was completely in line with the market realities of that time. Prior to the pan-India victory of Baahubali, RRR, and Pushpa, the actors of Telugu cinema were primarily confined to local markets, and Rajamouli’s\the blockbuster made the character of Prabhas access to wider markets from India to the rest of the world.

Prabhas’ film Raja Saab is\going to be released\in theatres on January 9 as the Sankranti movie. In addition to the lead actors, the fantasy horror comedy is also casting Sanjay Dutt, Nidhhi Agerwal, and Malavika Mohanan in the major roles. The film is expected to entertain the audience with an enjoyable plot as per the genre.