Baahubali with Prabhas, Vikramarkudu with Ravi Teja, RRR with Ram Charan, now Jr NTR? Decoding SS Rajamouli's 'curse'

Every actor dreams of working with SS Rajamouli, a filmmaker who has gained international fame with blockbuster films like Baahubali: The Beginning, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, RRR, Magadheera, and Eega. SS Rajamouli is the highest-grossing Indian director of all time, as well as the highest-paid director in Indian cinema. His last film RRR, which won big at The Oscars, earned Rs 1300 crore at the box office. This has increased SS Rajamouli's demand as a filmmaker among many actors. However, today we will decode one thing attached to the filmmaker which is opposite to his blockbuster image. We are talking about the fact that every actor, after working in his film in the lead role, has not been as successful at the box office with his next. Just like the infamous saying that the career of actresses who debut with Salman Khan does not flourish. Similarly, after working with SS Rajamouli, the next few films of the lead actors ail at the box office. 

Prabhas 

In 2005, SS Rajamouli chose Prabhas for his film Chatrapathi. The film became a super hit and made Prabhas an overnight star. But soon after this, his next film Pournami, directed by Prabhu Deva, flopped. Prabhas then again worked with SS Rajamouli in Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion which collected Rs 2500 crore worldwide. But again, his next film Saaho proved to be average in terms of earnings. His films after Saaho, Radhe Shyam, and Adipurush also had a bad fate at the box office. 

Ravi Teja 

South superstar Ravi Teja's Vikramarkudu was released in 2006. SS Rajamouli had made the film and it was a blockbuster hit. Rowdy Rathore, starring Akshay Kumar, was based on this film, However, after Vikramarkudu, Ravi Teja's next film Khatarnak was a flop. 

Ram Charan

Now, let's talk about RRR actor Ram Charan. His film Magadheera was released in 2009. The film, directed by SS Rajamouli, created a stir at the box office. But, the film Orange, released after this was a huge flop. Then Ram Charan worked with SS Rajamouli again in RRR which was a blockbuster hit. But the audience rejected Ram Charan's next film, Acharya.

Jr NTR 

SS Rajamouli made his debut in Telugu cinema in 2001 with Student No. 1. Jr NTR was in the lead role in the film. It became a blockbuster and earned a lot of accolades, both from the critics and at the box office. Jr NTR's popularity was at its peak when his next film Subbu was released but it was a commercial failure.

After that, in 2003, Jr NTR appeared in Rajamouli's film Simhadri which became the highest-grossing Telugu film in history at the time. His next film after this, Andhrawala, was a box office flop. Jr NTR's film Yamadonga, which came in 2007, was a blockbuster, while Kantri, which came after it, was a flop. Jr NTR last collaborated with SS Rajamouli in RRR which was also a blockbuster. But his most recent film, Devara, which is currently running in the theatres, is again performing average at the box office so far. On Day 4 of its release, Devara failed to cross Rs 200 crore at the box office.

If we talk about SS Rajamouli, he is one of those directors who completely immerse themselves in their work and do it with precision, no matter how much time it takes. He makes his stars work at a level that is not everyone's cup of tea. Choosing a story that captivates the audience, making the stars work hard, keeping a close eye on every frame from VFX, and putting in a lot of effort on the music as well, and in such a situation, when the film is released, it becomes a hit. 

In this way, after a star works in an SS Rajamouli film, the expectations of the audience from that star reach the skies and they want something similar, larger than life. 

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