Speaking about 'Saaho' ahead of the film's release on August 30, Prabhas says that the film is a screenplay-based one. Catch him also talk about Sujeeth, the technical team, what makes 'Saaho' a special one, what to expect from it, working with Shraddha Kapoor and others and more.

Extraordinary visuals

After 'Baahubali', we wanted to do something big in the action genre if I had to do an action film. The visuals and the extravaganza would have to give the audience extra bang for the buck.

The stamp of Sujeeth

Sujeeth has always been good in the area of screenplay. After 'Run Raja Run', I asked him if he would be ready to work with me. When he said he would ready a story for me, I was amazed by his confidence. Sujeeth is a pro when it comes to offering entertainment. We both participated in workshops before taking the film to the floors. The lines you hear in the trailer has everything to do with his style of writing. He has made too big a film for his age.

Not so much training

Major portions were shot in Abu Dhabi and Hyderabad. The Jetman sequence, among others, needed a lot of homework. I did go through training, but not as much as what 'Baahubali' necessitated.

Building cars, trucks, etc

'Saaho' involved months and months of technical homework. Extensive discussions were held among the technicians. They built trucks, they designed about 30 cars, among them remote-controlled cars. These are things that I came across for the first time ever. The remote-controlled cars had to be created to get crashes and blasts realistic. Sabu Cyril sir, Madhie, Kamalkannan sir, among others, had to be there on the sets always.

Communicating with Hollywood technicians was not easy. They had to understand the emotions behind each scene perfectly.

It was to be a Rs 150 Cr movie

After 'Baahubali', if an action film had to be done by me, it had to be this big. We wanted to complete 'Saaho' in Rs 150 Cr but it didn't work out. My friends at UV Creations spent Rs 9 Cr on 'Run Raja Run'. They are not bothered about money as long as quality is there. Just to plan the locations and set-ups, they and the technical team visited Abu Dhabi 4-5 times before starting the actual work. Cars and other vehicles had to be shipped to the shooting locations.

There was a separate team to ensure safety on the sets. They are experts and know how to maintain stuff.

Content is king

Content comes first and grandeur next. Without emotional content, no story can work. 'Saaho' is not a big story like 'Baahubali'. It's essentially a screenplay-based product. The film is not just about action. It's high on style. The fights are 3-4 in number. If one of them is high on gloss, yet another is dusty.

Developed over two years

The story was developed over two years. It was not changed after 'Baahubali-2', but the dialogues, action sequences, shot division, etc were bettered constantly. Sujeeth was always on the job. If everything goes well, there might well be a sequel to 'Saaho'.

Lovely reception

I have received a warm welcome everywhere, be it in Mumbai, Kerala, Chennai, or Bangalore. It has been a great experience visiting various places to promote 'Saaho'.

Telugu cinema is growing

I will continue to do regional cinema regardless of what the audience are going to do to 'Saaho'. Telugu cinema is evolving continuously. Content-driven movies are doing very well. After 'Arjun Reddy', we have seen nice movies such as 'Jersey'. This year, we had a haul of National Awards.

Right kind of songs

My friend and producer Vamsi has a very good taste for music. 'Bad Boy' song is as per the script. A commercial film needs a certain kind of songs.

Krishnam Raju garu knows the story and he totally liked it. For a man of his age, his tastes are modern.

Kudos to Shraddha

Shraddha Kapoor has done a very good job with action sequences. She has a very important role in the movie and the story follows her. The story is layered and the characters are not straightforward.

Being grounded

I have learned to be grounded, thanks to watching Rajamouli from close. I also learn from Chiranjeevi garu and Rajinikanth garu to be dow to earth.