Prabhas

Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju, known professionally as Prabhas, is an Indian actor who works primarily in Telugu cinema. Recognized in the media as the "Rebel Star," he ranks among the highest-paid actors in Indian film and has featured on Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2015. Having appeared in over 24 films, he has earned a Nandi Award, a SIIMA Award, and seven Filmfare Award nominations.

Prabhas was born on October 23, 1979, in Madras (now Chennai) to film producer Uppalapati Surya Narayana Raju and Siva Kumari. He grew up in a Telugu family from Mogalthur, Andhra Pradesh, alongside an elder brother, Prabodh, and an elder sister, Pragathi. He is also the nephew of actor Krishnam Raju. Prabhas attended Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Chennai and DNR High School in Bhimavaram. He completed intermediate studies at Nalanda College, earned a Bachelor of Technology degree from Sri Chaitanya College in Hyderabad, and studied acting at the Satyanand Film Institute in Visakhapatnam.

Making his debut in the 2002 drama Eeswar, Prabhas achieved his commercial breakthrough with the 2004 action romance Varsham. He solidified his status as a leading actor through successful projects such as Chatrapathi (2005), Bujjigadu (2008), Billa (2009), Darling (2010), Mr. Perfect (2011), and Mirchi (2013), winning the Nandi Award for Best Actor for the latter. In 2014, he made a guest appearance in a dance sequence for the Hindi film Action Jackson.

Prabhas gained international prominence by portraying a dual role in S. S. Rajamouli's epic duology Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017). He devoted five years exclusively to the project, undergoing dramatic physical transformations. The sequel became the highest-grossing film in India and established Prabhas as a prominent pan-Indian star. His performance in the second film earned him the SIIMA Award for Best Actor.

Transitioning to large-scale, multi-language productions, Prabhas starred in the action thriller Saaho (2019), which achieved significant opening collections despite mixed reviews. He followed this with the period romantic drama Radhe Shyam (2022) and played Raghava in the mythological epic Adipurush (2023), both of which encountered critical and box-office difficulties.

In 2023, Prabhas starred in the action drama Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire, followed by the science fiction feature Kalki 2898 AD in 2024. He holds several box-office records, including being the first Indian actor with a film crossing ₹1000 crore globally and the only actor with six movies generating over ₹100 crore on opening day worldwide. Additionally, he is the first South Indian actor featured as a wax figure at Madame Tussauds.