The Day the 'Baahubali' Dream Nearly Drowned: How Prabhas's Sheer Stardom Rewrote the First Day of Filming

Before Baahubali became, well, Baahubali—a cinematic behemoth that shattered records and captured imaginations across the globe—it had to start somewhere. Every epic begins with a single step, a solitary shot. And for this particular magnum opus, that very first step, you could say, stumbled rather spectacularly. Not because of a script mishap or a technical glitch, mind you, but because of something far more potent: the sheer, unadulterated adoration of its leading man, Prabhas.

The scene was set in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. A sprawling production, buzzing with the kind of nervous energy that only a grand vision like director SS Rajamouli's can conjure. January 2013, if memory serves, marked the beginning of principal photography for what would eventually be known as Baahubali: The Beginning. But what truly happened on that inaugural day? Honestly, it's quite a story, a vivid testament to Prabhas's colossal stardom in the Telugu states.

Word, as it often does, travels fast in these parts. The whisper of "Prabhas is here!" quickly morphed into a roaring shout, drawing crowds from every conceivable corner. People, simply put, wanted a glimpse. They wanted to witness their hero in action, even just a flash. And so, they came. And came. And kept coming. What started as a manageable gathering soon escalated into an uncontrollable human tide, a veritable sea of eager faces pushing, surging, yearning to be closer to their idol.

Chaos, frankly, ensued. Absolute pandemonium. The kind where carefully planned shots become utterly impossible, where the very act of filming is drowned out by the roar of the crowd. Rajamouli, a visionary director known for his meticulous planning, found his elaborate set overtaken, his carefully choreographed scenes rendered utterly unshootable. Imagine the frustration, the sheer logistical nightmare of trying to capture a moment of cinematic magic amidst such an overwhelming, yet undeniably loving, invasion.

In the end, and this is the kicker, there was simply no other choice. The entire day’s efforts—every single frame shot, every painstakingly rehearsed scene—had to be scrapped. Gone. Utterly unusable. The raw, passionate energy of the fans, while a beautiful reflection of Prabhas’s immense appeal, proved to be an insurmountable obstacle that day. It was, for all intents and purposes, a reset button pressed right at the starting line.

This incident, far from being a mere footnote, truly highlights the unparalleled craze surrounding Prabhas. Long before Baahubali made him a pan-Indian superstar, his popularity in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana was already legendary. That first day, that forced halt, it wasn't just a production hiccup; it was a powerful, unplanned declaration of his magnetic pull. A wild, almost poetic, beginning to a film that would go on to achieve mythic status itself. And yes, they did eventually get those shots, but not before learning a very unique lesson about the true, untamed power of celebrity in Indian cinema.