Mumbai: The excitement around Prabhas’ upcoming film The Raja Saab is at its peak as the horror comedy prepares to hit cinemas this Friday, January 9. The film has received a great buzz about its scale, genre, cast, and massive star power of Prabhas, and now the film has cleared its censor formalities long before the release, providing a little more insight to the fans.
Censor Details and Changes Explained
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has passed The Raja Saab with a U/A 16+ certificate on December 24, 2025. The positive aspect is that the board did not request any alterations to the dialogues or romantic scenes in the film. Nevertheless, there were two violence scenes that have been edited.
According to the censor cut list, a scene showing blood being washed on the floor was altered and converted into black and white visuals. In a different sequence, a beheading scene was cut off by four seconds and was shown in brief flash cuts as opposed to a detailed display. Once these changes were made, the film received its clearance. As per the censor certificate, the original runtime mentioned was 189 minutes, which equals 3 hours and 9 minutes.
Runtime Trimmed for Better Viewing Experience
In a significant late update, the makers have reportedly trimmed the film by 15 to 20 minutes. Prabhas and the director, Maruthi, both made this decision together in order to have a stricter and more captivating storyline. The new estimated runtime is estimated at 2 hours and 55 minutes or 175 minutes.
The Raja Saab was originally more than three hours long, yet the edited version tries to provide smoother pacing without interfering with the story. Paid premiere shows are scheduled across India on January 8, a day before the official release.
Box Office Clash and Advance Booking Buzz
The Raja Saab will face direct competition from Thalapathy Vijay’s Tamil film Jana Nayagan, which is also releasing on January 9. Jana Nayagan reportedly has a runtime of 3 hours and 3 minutes, making it another lengthy theatrical experience.
The Raja Saab is opening to a good start in its overseas markets where advance bookings are being made. The film has sold more than 17500 tickets in North America and the United Kingdom. In the United States alone, premiere advance sales crossed 425,000 dollars in early January. However, Jana Nayagan is also performing well and has held a slight lead at certain points in North American pre sales.
Back in India, audience interest is clearly visible on BookMyShow. With more than 695,000 user interests, Jana Nayagan is on top with The Raja Saab right behind with over 409,000 user interests which spells good future of both releases.
Cast, Genre, and Confidence Around the Film
Directed by Maruthi, The Raja Saab marks Prabhas’ first film in the horror comedy genre. The movie has a powerful ensemble cast comprising of Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani, Nidhhi Agerwal, Malavika Mohanan, Riddhi Kumar and Zarina Wahab. People Media Factory and IVY Entertainment are its producers.
Adding to the confidence, filmmaker Hemanth Madhukar recently expressed strong belief in the film’s box office potential. He said that The Raja Saab can take on the phenomenal streak of recent blockbuster Dhurandhar and attributes this to the unprecedented crowd puller of Prabhas and the rising popularity of horror comedies among Hindi viewers.
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