Prabhas, who’s celebrating his birthday on October 23, hasn’t set any resolutions for the next year. “I’ve never done that,” he says. Even when he was shooting Baahubali: The Beginning , he operated from a position of low expectations, as somebody focussed more on the now than on tomorrow. “But I guess I expected the film to do well. The results, however, shocked us. It’s fair to say they exceeded my expectations,” he says. He recognises Rajamouli’s offer as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” and is aware that “people around the country know my face now”.
If anything, Baahubali: The Conclusion , the sequel, has more action sequences. “Yeah, there were a lot of rigorous sequences,” he says. “We have put in a lot of hard work. I hope the audience likes the film.” The shooting is almost through, save for an action scene and two songs. Though there’s a lot of emphasis on action, Prabhas believes that the real highlight of the film is something else. “My character, Amarendra Baahubali, goes through a lot of ups and downs in the sequel. The drama is the real highlight of the sequel.”
As somebody born in Chennai and able to speak Tamil, it’s curious that Prabhas hasn’t done a Tamil film yet, or a bilingual at least. His contemporaries, Rana Daggubati and Allu Arjun, have already announced projects here. “I’ve always thought of doing a Tamil film. My next, after Baahubali ’s sequel, will be a bilingual,” he reveals. He says he has generally stayed tuned to the happenings of Tamil cinema. “I watch a lot of Tamil films. I don’t miss any of those directed by Mani Ratnam, Shankar and Gautham Menon.” One more mandatory nod of respect follows. “I’m a big fan of Rajini sir .” He rubbishes rumours that he’s been approached to do the Telugu remake of Malayalam hit, Pulimurugan , but says that he will be revealing news about his bilingual “very soon”.
