Hyderabad: The Raja Saab, starring pan-India star Prabhas, released as a Sankranti festive treat with huge expectations. Directed by Maruthi, the film promised a mix of horror and comedy and took nearly three years to complete. However, after its release on January 9, the movie failed to meet audience expectations and ended up as a major box office disappointment.
The poor result deeply upset Prabhas fans, who began expressing their frustration online. Social media platforms were flooded with criticism and trolling aimed at director Maruthi. Many fans blamed him for wasting what they called prime years of Prabhas’ career and accused him of not delivering a script worthy of a pan-India star.
Harassment Goes Beyond Social Media
What began as online trolling soon crossed limits. Reports suggest that fans started placing multiple fake food and grocery orders to Maruthi’s home address using delivery apps. In a single day, over a hundred orders were reportedly placed. Some even ordered medical equipment, creating serious inconvenience for security staff and delivery personnel.
Maruthi later clarified that he had no connection with these orders and urged delivery platforms to take note of the misuse.
Adding to the anger were Maruthi’s comments made during a pre-release event. While speaking on stage, he accidentally referred to Prabhas as a medium-range hero while explaining his journey after Baahubali. Though the comment did not create much noise initially, it resurfaced after the film’s failure and further angered fans.
Silence and Calls for Calm
Following the harassment, Maruthi and his close associates have chosen to remain silent and stay away from social media. Well-wishers believe that reacting now could worsen the situation.
At the same time, many netizens are calling for maturity. They stress that success and failure are part of cinema and that targeting individuals personally is unacceptable. Several voices are also urging Prabhas to address fans and ask them to stop such actions.
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