What is The Raja Saab glimpse trying to tell?

It is a common practice these days, to unveil a shorter promotional video before a teaser or trailer. Sometimes there may be more than one short video released in periodic intervals.

After the “glimpse” of Mechanic Rocky came out on Sunday, we got a small glimpse of Prabhas from his upcoming film The Raja Saab. The makers of the film took the liberty of announcing their release date, April 10,2025, along with the glimpse.

The Raja Saab is going to be a stark departure in Prabhas’ filmography. After acting in a slate of larger-than-life, pan India releases that dealt with relatively esoteric themes like dystopia and new-age mythology, the actor will be featuring in a good, old-fashioned entertainer. The Raja Saab, directed by Maruthi, is touted to be a romantic, horror entertainer. This is also going to be the first time we will see Prabhas in a horror film.

The glimpse of The Raja Saab is unlike any other promotional content we have seen recently. Unless there are specific moment marketing promotional videos specifically made to release on the birthdays of actors’ and filmmakers’, glimpse videos or showreels mostly focus on the film’s plot and its various characters. Even on the off chance that the film’s glimpse video will focus on the hero, we get to see the hero in the specific context of the character he is playing.

Here we come to what seems to be interesting about Prabhas in The Raja Saab. In the video, Prabhas goes towards a car, slouches down to its rear mirror and takes a good look at himself. The actor is later seen appreciating his own beauty, as he smiles and showers flower petals in the direction of his own reflection.

Now we don’t know if this act bears any meaning to the film’s story. We don’t know whether it is a character quirk or not. Let’s give that benefit of doubt to the makers of The Raja Saab for now. But, based on the information we all have on Prabhas and his career post-Baahubali, one cannot help but see a meta connection with the glimpse video and the actor’s life.

After Baahubali, where the actor has considerably bulked up, Prabhas suffered from a host of health issues that posed a detrimental impact on his looks & physique. The actor did not look like his former handsome self for a few years now. For anybody, this is a big deal, but for an actor, the consequences can be catastrophic.

But while Prabhas was going through this phase, where his films were failing and his looks left a lot to be desired, the actor’s fans stood by him like a rock, supporting him like nobody’s business. Film after film, fans and general audience made it a point to flock to the theatres to keep the patronage of Prabhas’ work alive. Irrespective of external factors that could have killed the career of any actor, Prabhas’ career is flourishing, thanks to the love and goodwill of Telugu audience & DHFs.

Things have been changing lately for the better for Prabhas, though. When the actor recently appeared at the pre-release event of Kalki 2898 AD in Mumbai, fans took notice of how radiant, happy, healthy and handsome he looks. The success of Kalki 2898 AD has effectively shut down the words of naysayers who have written Prabhas off.

The Raja Saab is up for release soon, and it looks like the film’s team wants to make a point. The glimpse of Prabhas in The Raja Saab does not just celebrate the glow of success and personal evolution in the superstar’s life, but it also subconsciously recognizes the role of his fans in this resultant, long overdue literal and metaphorical glow-up. It remains to be seen whether Maruthi and everyone else in The Raja Saab can maintain the momentum of Prabhas’ success streak with their upcoming film.