Actor Prabhas has said that the huge success of Baahubali brought intense pressure with it, revealing that he had trouble sleeping for two to three years after the film’s release. In the behind-the-scenes documentary Baahubali: The Torchbearer, he reflected on how the film changed the expectations from his career and influenced the scale of projects he took up later, including Salaar and Kalki 2898 AD.
He said Baahubali changed the reach of Telugu cinema and also altered how audiences responded to his subsequent films. Talking about Saaho, he recalled being surprised by its opening-day figures in North India, which he said were around ₹26 crore, adding that this response was largely due to the impact of Baahubali.
Prabhas said the success of Baahubali enabled much larger-scale films, including Saaho, the ship sequence in Radhe Shyam, and his later projects, whereas earlier his films were made on relatively smaller budgets of ₹20–40 crore.
He also shared that the post-Baahubali phase was mentally challenging as he struggled to decide what kind of film to do next, weighing options like a drama, a visual spectacle, or a love story. During this time, he discussed ideas with filmmakers Prashanth Neel and Nag Ashwin, who later directed Salaar and Kalki 2898 AD.
The actor said the uncertainty took a personal toll, and he was unable to sleep properly for years due to the responsibility and expectations that followed the success of Baahubali. He added that the film ultimately became the foundation for his later successes and the larger cinematic universe that followed.
