The RajaSaab producer says Prabhas film's 40-min climax took 120 days' shoot, 300 days' VFX work, led to delayed release

The RajaSaab, starring Prabhas, is a highly anticipated horror-comedy film set to release in December 2025. Delays were due to extensive shooting and VFX work.

The RajaSaab, Prabhas' vintage turn in the horror-comedy genre, is one of the most awaited films of the year. But the anticipation may have lasted longer than many fans bargained for. The film, which will release in December, was originally slated to hit the screens in April. At the teaser launch event on Monday, the film's makers revealed what led to this delay

Director Maruthi holds up a poster of Prabhas during The RajaSaab teaser launch.

The teaser of The RajaSaab was launched in a grand fashion on Monday in Hyderabad, marking the commencement of the promotions. At the event, the film's makers interacted with the media present and answered some questions about the film in a press meet.

How massive a climax caused a delayed release

The RajaSaab producer TG Vishwa Prasad spoke about the scale of the film and said, "I don't know how Maruthi (the director) could manage that schedule. They would start shoot at 6 am and go on till 10 pm or 11 pm. And that went on for 120 days. This was just one schedule. Because of you will see the grandest 40-minute climax coming from those 120 days."

He added, "After that, it took the VFX people 300 days to process that. But it is something we have not seen before."

Vishwa Prasad also said the climax schedule and the VFX on it led to the delay in release.

"It took 120 days to shoot, and 300 days of VFX. The VFX was very important. That led to the delay. I know everyone was disappointed. But it was important to deliver the right quality in best manner," he informed.

Director Maruthi addresses 18-hour shifts

The RajaSaab stars Prabhas alongside Sanjay Dutt, Malavika Mohanan, and Nidhhi Agerwal, along with Boman Irani. The film has been mounted on a massive scale, and will be releasing in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam. In response to another question about what the audiences can expect from The RajaSaab, director Maruthi said, "We can make Disney kind of film in India, Hollywood-scale cinema. I want to prove that."

Director Maruthi also addressed working 16-18 hours every day on the film. At a time when the conversation is moving to more humane 8-hour shifts for actors and technicians, Maruthi admitted that his shoot often went on for 18 hours. But he clarified that actors were not harassed. "I had two shifts with some actors in one and some in the other. But, I worked up to 18 hours a day, as did these people (pointed to his DOP and producer). That was important if we wanted to finish a film of this scale in time."

At the teaser launch, co-producer SKN said he had high hopes from the film and said it would 'repeat history' at the box office. "In 2023 December first week came Animal. In 2024, it was Pushpa Part 2. And in 2025, December first week, it will be The RajaSaab." The RajaSaab will be releasing in theatres on December 2025. It is being touted as India's biggest horror fantasy.