The RajaSaab (2026) [Film Review]: A Star-Studded Fantasy Horror Comedy That Struggles to Deliver

The RajaSaab is a visually ambitious Telugu fantasy-horror comedy that often dazzles the eye but struggles to hold your attention. Maruthi Dasari’s star-driven confection brims with big moments for Prabhas, lavish sets, and cheeky touches of humor — yet a loose screenplay and uneven tone keep it from becoming the crowd-pleaser it clearly wants to be.

What the film is

A genre mash-up with a princely lead

The film centers on RajaSaab (Prabhas), a carefree playboy pulled back to an ancestral estate where romance, inheritance, and inexplicable happenings collide. Maruthi mixes carnival-like comedy, supernatural trappings, and family melodrama into a single film that frequently feels like three different movies trying to share one wardrobe.

Direction & screenplay

Ambition without a firm grip

Maruthi’s direction aims for spectacle: expansive sets, flamboyant production design, and bold visual ideas are in nearly every frame. But the script lacks the structural discipline to match the visual ambition. Scenes meant to build dread or deliver laughs linger, diluting emotional payoff and upsetting rhythm. The tonal seesaw between slapstick and spooky rarely lands cleanly; jokes undercut scares and vice versa, leaving the viewer unsure when to lean in.

Performances

Prabhas carries, the rest play catch-up

Prabhas remains an undeniable draw — his easy charisma and comic timing are the film’s saving grace when the plot stalls. He inhabits RajaSaab with a relaxed swagger that makes even indulgent sequences watchable. However, the supporting cast is underused: performers like Malavika Mohanan, Nidhhi Agerwal, and Riddhi Kumar provide competent work but receive limited character depth. Veterans such as Boman Irani and Sanjay Dutt lend weight, but the screenplay rarely gives them material that transcends archetype.

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Visuals, production & music

Design-forward but occasionally indulgent

On a technical level, The RajaSaab is striking. Production design and costume work create a surreal, slightly off-kilter world that suits the fantasy-horror brief. The background score amplifies both the playful and eerie beats. Yet the film’s persistence in staging prolonged visual set pieces often substitutes choreography for narrative progress, stretching the runtime and testing patience.

Where it falters

Pacing, payoff, and tonal confusion

The principal flaws are structural. The pacing drags — particularly in the final act, where sequences repeat motifs without escalation — and the climax undercuts rather than clarifies the story’s stakes. The uneasy blend of comedy and horror means neither element ever reaches full potency; when a joke should land, a ghostly reveal intrudes, and scary sequences are diffused by pratfalls. Ambition is visible throughout, but execution fails to sustain it.

Who will like it

For fans, less so for newcomers

If you’re a Prabhas devotee or you relish Telugu cinema’s appetite for star moments and visual excess, there is entertainment value here. Casual viewers seeking a taut horror comedy with sharper laughs and a tighter script are likely to come away disappointed.

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Final Thought: ★★⯪☆☆ (2.5/5)

An arresting misfire that could have been better focused

The RajaSaab is an admirable attempt to broaden commercial Telugu cinema’s palette, experimenting with fantasy and horror alongside mainstream masala. Unfortunately, the film’s heart — and its best star — can’t fully redeem a story that doesn’t know when to stop showing off. With cleaner editing and a firmer tonal compass, this extravagant effort might have become a memorable genre hybrid; as it stands, it’s an overlong spectacle that rarely justifies its runtime.