Prabhas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Prabhas
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Prabhas at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con
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Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju
23 October 1979 Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India
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| Education | Sri Chaitanya College, Hyderabad (BTech) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2002–present |
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Works
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Full list |
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| Relatives | Krishnam Raju (uncle) |
| Awards | Full list |
Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju (born 23 October 1979), known simply as Prabhas, is a famous Indian actor. He mainly works in Telugu cinema, which is a big part of the Indian film industry. Prabhas is one of the highest-paid actors in India. He has been on Forbes India magazine's list of top celebrities since 2015. People in the media often call him the "Rebel Star."
Prabhas has acted in more than 20 films. He has won several awards, including a Nandi Award and a SIIMA Award. He also received seven nominations for the Filmfare Awards South.
He started his acting journey with the film Eeswar in 2002. He became very popular after his action romance film Varsham in 2004. He then starred in many successful movies like Chatrapathi (2005), Darling (2010), and Mirchi (2013). He even won the Nandi Award for Best Actor for Mirchi.
Prabhas became a huge star with the epic action films Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017). Baahubali 2 became the highest-grossing Indian film at that time. These movies made Prabhas the first "pan-Indian" star, meaning he became famous all over India, not just in one region. After a short period where some of his films didn't do as well, he made a big comeback with Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire (2023) and Kalki 2898 AD (2024).
Prabhas is the only Indian actor to have six films that earned over ₹100 crore (a huge amount of money) worldwide on their opening day. He is also the first actor from South India to have a wax sculpture at a Madame Tussaud's museum.
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Early life and education
Prabhas was born on 23 October 1979 in Madras (now Chennai). His family is Telugu. His father, Uppalapati Surya Narayana Raju, was a film producer, and his mother is Siva Kumari. Prabhas is the youngest of three children. He has an older brother named Prabodh and an older sister named Pragathi. His uncle, Krishnam Raju, was also a famous Telugu film actor. His family comes from a place called Mogalthur in Andhra Pradesh.
Prabhas went to school at Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai in Chennai and DNR High School in Bhimavaram. He then completed his college education at Nalanda College in Hyderabad. Later, he studied Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) at Sri Chaitanya College, also in Hyderabad. He also attended Satyanand Film Institute in Visakhapatnam to learn more about acting.
Career
Early films and growing popularity (2002–2014)
Prabhas started his acting career in 2002 with the action drama Eeswar. In 2003, he acted in Raghavendra. Many people thought Prabhas was very good in this film and believed he would become a superstar.
His big break came with the action romance Varsham in 2004. This movie was a huge hit and one of the highest-earning Telugu films that year. He was nominated for his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu. In 2005, he starred in Chakram. The same year, he played a refugee in S. S. Rajamouli's action drama Chatrapathi. This film was a blockbuster and ran for 100 days in many cinemas. Critics praised his unique style and strong presence on screen.
In 2008, Prabhas worked with director Puri Jagannadh on the action-comedy Bujjigadu. This film helped him get back on track at the box office, and he received good reviews for his acting. In 2009, he played two roles in the action thriller Billa, which was a big success.
In 2010, he appeared in the romantic comedy Darling. This movie received positive reviews and was one of the highest-earning films of the year. Critics loved Prabhas's performance. In 2011, Prabhas starred in the romantic drama Mr. Perfect, which was also a blockbuster. His acting in this film earned him another Filmfare Award nomination. This film was even re-released in Japan in 2024 and was very popular.
In 2013, Prabhas starred in Mirchi. This film opened to positive reviews and became a blockbuster. It was one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of all time when it was released. His performance earned him his fifth Filmfare Award nomination. In 2014, he made a special dance appearance in the Hindi film Action Jackson.
Becoming a pan-Indian star (2015–present)
In 2015, Prabhas played two roles, Shivudu/Mahendra Baahubali and Amarendra Baahubali, in S.S. Rajamouli's epic action drama Baahubali: The Beginning. This film was made with a huge budget and became a record-breaking success. It earned over ₹600 crore (US$100 million) worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Telugu film and the second highest-grossing Indian film at that time. This movie was praised around the world and started a new trend of "Pan-Indian" films.
Prabhas continued his role in the sequel, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017). This film had an even bigger budget. It became the first Indian film to earn over ₹1,000 crore (US$120 million) worldwide in just ten days! It also became the highest-grossing Indian film at that point. The film eventually earned over ₹1,810 crore (US$310 million) worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing Indian film worldwide to date.
Prabhas spent 5 years working on these two Baahubali films. He trained very hard for his roles. For the character of Shivudu, he became lean, weighing around 86-88 kilograms. For the role of Baahubali, he gained weight to become muscular, weighing 105 kilograms. He won the SIIMA Award for Best Actor – Telugu for his performance in The Conclusion. The success of the Baahubali series made Prabhas the first "Pan-Indian" star in Indian cinema, gaining fans across all of India.
In 2019, Prabhas starred in the action thriller Saaho. This film earned ₹130 crore worldwide on its opening day. It eventually earned over ₹419 crore (US$71 million) at the box office. In 2022, Prabhas appeared in the romantic drama Radhe Shyam, which did not do well. In 2023, he played Lord Ram in the film Adipurush, which was based on the Hindu epic Ramayana. This film also received negative reviews and was not successful.
However, Prabhas made a strong comeback with Prashanth Neel's action drama Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire (2023). This film received positive reviews and earned ₹176 crore worldwide on its first day. It eventually earned over ₹705 crore (US$120 million) worldwide and was a big success for him. In 2024, he starred in Nag Ashwin's epic science fiction film Kalki 2898 AD. This film was made with a huge budget of ₹600 crore (US$100 million). Kalki 2898 AD earned over ₹191 crore worldwide on its opening day, making it one of the highest first day gross for an Indian film. It was Prabhas's fifth film to earn over ₹100 crore on its opening day, which is a rare achievement in Indian cinema. This film earned over ₹1,100 crore (US$190 million) at the box office, making it Prabhas's second film to cross the ₹1,000 crore (US$120 million) mark.
Upcoming projects
Prabhas has many exciting films coming up. In April 2025, he will have a small role in Kannappa, a mythological drama. He will also star in The Raja Saab, a romantic horror-comedy. In 2026, Prabhas will appear in Salaar: Part 2 – Shouryaanga Parvam, which is the sequel to Salaar. He will also be in Spirit, an anti-hero drama. In 2027, he will play his roles again as Bhairava and Karna in Kalki 2898 AD - Part 2. He will also be in Fauji, a patriotic action-drama film.
Prabhas has also signed a deal for three films with Hombale Films, the company behind hits like KGF and Kantara. The first film will be Salaar: Part 2 – Shouryaanga Parvam in 2026, and the other two films are planned for 2027 and 2028.
Helping others
Prabhas cares about social causes. He has supported the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), which is about keeping India clean. In 2020, Prabhas donated ₹4 crore (US$680,000) to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. He gave ₹3 crore to the Prime Minister's fund and ₹50 lakh each to the Chief Minister Relief Funds of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
He also adopted 1,650 acres of Khazipally Reserve Forest near Hyderabad in 2020. He donated ₹2 crore (US$340,000) to develop an eco-park there, named after his late father. He also donated ₹8 lakh (US$14,000) to the Lions Club of Hyderabad Sadhuram Eye Hospital.
In 2021, he donated ₹1 crore (US$170,000) to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to help people affected by heavy rainfall. In 2023, he donated ₹10 lakh (US$17,000) for the development of a temple called Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamy Devathanam. In 2024, he donated ₹35 lakh (US$60,000) to the Telugu Film Directors Association to support film workers. Prabhas also donated ₹2 crore (US$340,000) to help victims of the 2024 Wayanad landslides in Kerala. He also gave ₹2 crore (US$340,000) to help with flood relief in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, giving ₹1 crore to each state's Chief Minister Relief Fund.
Filmography and awards
