Prabhu Deva wants no credit for reviving Salman Khan’s career

Prabhu Deva has always been a man of few words. Despite making masala movies that entertain across age groups, Prabhu believes in being succinct with his thoughts. He’s currently back in the news for directing Dabangg 3 now, after having given Salman Khan’s career a shot in the arm with Wanted.

But ask Prabhu about it, and he refuses to take credit for it. “I don’t take any credit for reviving Salman’s career. Everybody has ups and downs, and Salman has always been a superstar. So, he gave me a chance to direct Wanted. He could’ve easily gotten some well-known filmmaker instead. For me, Salman and Boney (Kapoor) helped me make an entrance in Bollywood through Wanted,” he says.

Unfortunately, in the recent past, Prabhu’s movies with him as director (Action Jackson and Singh is Bliing) have failed to ring registers at the box office. But he’s not too bothered about it. “It’s commonplace in any professional sphere,” he says. “When you get success, people run after you. When you fail, people think twice before approaching you. I feel that a star or an actor is only as good as his or her last film. But having said that, stars do get discounted at times. And even I got that from my producers.”

But when it comes to being a director, Prabhu is cautious. “I like to experiment as an actor, but as a director I play it safe,” he says. “The money is so big, you can’t play with the producers’ cash. So much is riding on a film, so I have to be careful.”

Ask Prabhu if he feels the pressure of directing a sequel in the successful Dabangg franchise, and he says, “Right now, I don’t have any pressure. When the film gets closer to release, that’s when the pressure gets to me. We start shooting this year. All I can say is that some people have their own style, quite like Rajini sir. It’s the same with Salman. He’s so effortless, and it will be fun to reunite with him.”

Prabhu is currently promoting his silent thriller film Mercury, which will hit screens on April 13.