Happy Birthday, Prabhas: Baahubali @38

Burly, dashing and talented, Prabhas is one of the most sought after actors to come out of Telugu cinema. Much of his appeal came from the magnum opus Baahubali: The Beginning series and its much-anticipated sequel Baahubali: The Conclusion, which released earlier this year. However, the breakthrough role is not all that defines Prabhas. Here's a look at the life and times of the young star on his birthday.

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Born on October 23, 1979, Prabhas is a shy soul who doesn't speak much about his childhood. However, cinema runs in his blood. The actor, born Prabhas Raju Uppalapati in Chennai, is the son of notable producer U. Suryanarayana Raju and wife Siva Kumari. The youngest of three children, Prabhas has an elder brother Pramod and sister Pragathi.

Prabhas' late father was known to produce many classic hit films starring his brother, popular actor Krishnam Raju which includes the award-winning Bhakta Kannappa, Amara Deepam, Mana Voori Pandavulu, Bobbili Brahmanna and Tandra Paparayudu.

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He never had plans for stardom. Hence, Prabhas did not neglect his education. His schooling is from Bhimavaram and Hyderabad and holds a degree in Engineering. He wanted to become a businessman but life had other plans.

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Prabhas started his career in the Telugu romantic action film Eeshwar in 2002, in which he was paired opposite Sridevi Vijaykumar. Unfortunately, it wasn't much of a launchpad grossing averagely at the box-office. The next year, he starred in Raghavendra, but blockbuster success would evade him till 2004's Varsham, opposite established actress Trisha Krishnan. The film, which was later loosely remade in Hindi as Baaghi, starring Tiger Shroff, got Prabhas his first Filmfare Award nomination as his performance was appreciated by many.

In spite of doing one or two films every years, many consider Prabhas' breakthrough role to come from SS Rajamouli's (no, not Baahubali) Chhatrapati in 2005. The action film, which had hints of an emotional family saga, has Prabhas play a hero with shades of grey. Critics lauded the actor's charisma and style. Starring opposite Shriya Saran, Chhatrapati, earned Prabhas his second Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actor.

Over the course of the next few years, Prabhas tried his hand at romantic films like Pournami and Bujjigadu. However, it was hit action-dramas like Yogi, Munna, Billa and 2009's Ek Niranjan, opposite Kangana Ranaut (his third Filmfare nomination) that would give him continued critical and commercial success. 2010's Darling in which he was paired opposite Kajal Aggarwal was his first family drama that brought him immense success including his first Jury Award for Best Actor.

Due to the success of Darling, Prabhas' pairing with Kajal Aggarwal was repeated for rom-com Mr. Perfect. Prabhas was indeed 'Perfect' in the film and it reached blockbuster status, even touted to be the best Telugu film of 2011.

In 2014, Prabhas made a small Bollywood debut with a cameo in the song Punjabi Mast in Ajay Devgn's Action Jackson, in which he shook a leg with Sonakshi Sinha, heightening fans expectations for a full Hindi film debut. However, this is still yet to happen.

Prabhas' biggest hit ever turned out to be one of the biggest films in Indian film history. SS Rajamouli's epic two-part saga Baahubali, saw Prabhas in the titular role. The highest-grossing Indian films in India. Baahubali films success sky-rocketed the craze for Prabhas, so much so that the actor who won a million hearts with his performance in the film had deities being created with his signature pose from the film. Talk about fan following!

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Fans love his tall demeanour, ripped physique and deep voice. And all the hard work he put into Baahubali did certainly pull off. The actor did not sign any film for five years to give his complete attention to the series, and trained vigourously with a strict diet to play Shivudu/Mahendra and Amrendra Baahubali in both the parts.

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Baahubali: The Conclusion released to a blockbuster status in April, 2017 and shattered all major box office records.

Baahubali also gave Prabhas his best friendships. He considers Rana Daggubati, his co-star from the film, along with actors Allu Arjun and Gopichand to be amongst his closest friends.

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Some time ago, reports of Prabhas dating co-star Anushka Shetty, kept the Internet busy. However, who has known Anushka for almost a decade, said that both have them have decided that they'll never let dating rumours about them do the rounds and they are good friends.

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The Baahubali star has a wax figure in the character of Amarendra at Madame Tussauds museum in Bangkok, becoming the first South Indian actor to have his statue at the prestigious museum. It was unveiled in March 2017.

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The understated actor even keeps his charity work under wraps. Apparently, he's quite big on helping the needy and poor, and works towards the upliftment of children. So, not just a reel-life but also a real-life hero.

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Prabhas is currently filming Saaho, his next film after Baahubali series. The film also stars Shraddha Kapoor and is expected to release sometime next year.

HaHappy birthday, Prabhas. We're eagerly awaiting your next blockbuster.

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