<p>Actor Prabhas, the face of the Baahubali franchise, had a relatively quiet 2021 as his eagerly-awaited movie Radhe Shyam failed to keep its date with the audience due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He, however, remained in the limelight as he signed quite a few high-profile movies. Based on what we know about his upcoming projects, here is a look at his likely strategy to consolidate his standing in 2022.</p>.<p><strong>Also read |</strong> <strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/no-change-in-radhe-shyam-release-date-despite-increase-in-covid-19-cases-1066852.html" target="_blank">No change in 'Radhe Shyam' release date despite increase in Covid-19 cases</a></strong><br /><br /><strong>Mixing it up</strong><br /><br />Prabhas garnered attention with his work in the 2010 release <em>Darling</em>, which featured him in the role of a heartthrob. The film revolved around the love story of two childhood friends and catered to a family audience. The actor, who played a 'massy' role in his last release <em>Saaho</em>, is set to turn lover boy again with <em>Radhe Shyam</em>, a grand love story about the 'flirtationship' between the protagonist and his 'Juliet'.<br /><br />Post <em>Radhe Shyam</em>, he will play a larger-than-life character in <em>Adipurush</em>, an adaptation of the Ramayana. He will subsequently be turning action hero in Salar, a actioner about the life of a 'violent man'. He also has the fantasy drama Project K and Spirit in his kitty. He clearly is open to experimenting with his reel image by doing films that belong to different genres.<br /><br /><strong>Ready to back 'Gen Y' filmmakers</strong><br /><br />Prabhas surprised fans when teamed up with one-film-old Sujeeth for <em>Saaho </em>even before <em>Baahubali 2</em>, directed by ace filmmaker S S Rajamouli, hit the screens. The gamble paid off as the film did well in the Hindi belt. He is set to repeat the formula as his upcoming films <em>Radhe Shyam</em> and <em>Project K</em> are directed by relative newcomers Radha Krisha Kumar and Nag Ashwin, respectively, <em>Adipurush </em>(Om Raut), <em>Salaar </em>(Prashanth Neel) and <em>Spirit </em>(Sandeep Vanga) too will be helmed by younger filmmakers.<br /><br /><strong>Established actors leading ladies</strong><br /><br /><em>Saaho </em>managed to create a great deal of buzz among fans as it featured Bollywood A-lister Shraddha Kapoor as the leading lady opposite the mass hero, Prabhas, who enjoys a strong fan following in Hindi, is set to use the same formula to help <em>Project K</em> reach a wider audience. Nag Ashwin's magnum opus features Deepika Padukone, the star of blockbusters such as<em> Bajirao Mastaani </em>and <em>Padmaavat</em>, as the female protagonist. </p>.<p><em>Salaar </em>and <em>Adipurush </em>as no exceptions on this front as they star established actors Shruti Haasan and Kriti Sanon, respectively as the leading ladies. While Pooja Hegde--who plays Prabhas' 'Juliet' in <em>Radhe Shyam</em>-- isn't considered to be a big draw in Bollywood, she enjoys a strong fan following in Telugu cinema.<br /><br /><strong>Pan-India is the name of the game</strong><br /><br />The <em>Baahubali </em>franchise established the Mr Perfect hero as a pan-India star. He consolidated this image with he starred in <em>Saaho</em>, which was released in four languages-- Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. He is set to do justice to the 'pan-India' tag with <em>Adipurush </em>as the mythological saga will be shot on a budget of around Rs 300 crore and deal with the 'victory of good over evil', a universal theme. <em>Salaar </em>with its action sequences and<em> Radhe Shyam</em> with his romantic setting too are likely to appeal to fans industries. The same might apply to <em>Project K</em> and <em>Spirit </em>if their content packs a punch.</p>
<p>Actor Prabhas, the face of the Baahubali franchise, had a relatively quiet 2021 as his eagerly-awaited movie Radhe Shyam failed to keep its date with the audience due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He, however, remained in the limelight as he signed quite a few high-profile movies. Based on what we know about his upcoming projects, here is a look at his likely strategy to consolidate his standing in 2022.</p>.<p><strong>Also read |</strong> <strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/no-change-in-radhe-shyam-release-date-despite-increase-in-covid-19-cases-1066852.html" target="_blank">No change in 'Radhe Shyam' release date despite increase in Covid-19 cases</a></strong><br /><br /><strong>Mixing it up</strong><br /><br />Prabhas garnered attention with his work in the 2010 release <em>Darling</em>, which featured him in the role of a heartthrob. The film revolved around the love story of two childhood friends and catered to a family audience. The actor, who played a 'massy' role in his last release <em>Saaho</em>, is set to turn lover boy again with <em>Radhe Shyam</em>, a grand love story about the 'flirtationship' between the protagonist and his 'Juliet'.<br /><br />Post <em>Radhe Shyam</em>, he will play a larger-than-life character in <em>Adipurush</em>, an adaptation of the Ramayana. He will subsequently be turning action hero in Salar, a actioner about the life of a 'violent man'. He also has the fantasy drama Project K and Spirit in his kitty. He clearly is open to experimenting with his reel image by doing films that belong to different genres.<br /><br /><strong>Ready to back 'Gen Y' filmmakers</strong><br /><br />Prabhas surprised fans when teamed up with one-film-old Sujeeth for <em>Saaho </em>even before <em>Baahubali 2</em>, directed by ace filmmaker S S Rajamouli, hit the screens. The gamble paid off as the film did well in the Hindi belt. He is set to repeat the formula as his upcoming films <em>Radhe Shyam</em> and <em>Project K</em> are directed by relative newcomers Radha Krisha Kumar and Nag Ashwin, respectively, <em>Adipurush </em>(Om Raut), <em>Salaar </em>(Prashanth Neel) and <em>Spirit </em>(Sandeep Vanga) too will be helmed by younger filmmakers.<br /><br /><strong>Established actors leading ladies</strong><br /><br /><em>Saaho </em>managed to create a great deal of buzz among fans as it featured Bollywood A-lister Shraddha Kapoor as the leading lady opposite the mass hero, Prabhas, who enjoys a strong fan following in Hindi, is set to use the same formula to help <em>Project K</em> reach a wider audience. Nag Ashwin's magnum opus features Deepika Padukone, the star of blockbusters such as<em> Bajirao Mastaani </em>and <em>Padmaavat</em>, as the female protagonist. </p>.<p><em>Salaar </em>and <em>Adipurush </em>as no exceptions on this front as they star established actors Shruti Haasan and Kriti Sanon, respectively as the leading ladies. While Pooja Hegde--who plays Prabhas' 'Juliet' in <em>Radhe Shyam</em>-- isn't considered to be a big draw in Bollywood, she enjoys a strong fan following in Telugu cinema.<br /><br /><strong>Pan-India is the name of the game</strong><br /><br />The <em>Baahubali </em>franchise established the Mr Perfect hero as a pan-India star. He consolidated this image with he starred in <em>Saaho</em>, which was released in four languages-- Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. He is set to do justice to the 'pan-India' tag with <em>Adipurush </em>as the mythological saga will be shot on a budget of around Rs 300 crore and deal with the 'victory of good over evil', a universal theme. <em>Salaar </em>with its action sequences and<em> Radhe Shyam</em> with his romantic setting too are likely to appeal to fans industries. The same might apply to <em>Project K</em> and <em>Spirit </em>if their content packs a punch.</p>
