Hyderabad, Oct 23 (IANS): Telugu actor Prabhas who became a household name after starring in 'Bahubali', turned 42 on Saturday. He is the only South Indian actor to have successfully transited to Bollywood and has stood his ground so far.

Till date, very few male movie stars from the four South Indian film industries, have forayed into Bollywood and the ones who did, returned after one or two movies.

After Bahubali, Prabhas managed to bag a few big ticket Hindi movies in Bollywood. Although his first Hindi movie 'Saho' didn't exactly set the box office on fire, he retains his magic.

All eyes are now on 'Radhe Shyam' the latest teaser of which was shared on Saturday, to coincide with Prabhas' birthday.

Although he is enjoying the limelight now, it hasn't been smooth sailing all the way for the stylish star of Telugu filmdom. Ever since his debut in 2002, it's been an arduous trek to box office success.

Despite hailing from a powerful film family - his uncle, Krishnam Raju is a famous senior Telugu star and former Union Minister, Uppalapati Venkata Satyanarayana Prabhas Raju had to go through the trials and tribulations of building a career in the film industry.

His debut movie 'Eeswar' directed by Jayant Paranji didn't click at the box office. Even his second movie 'Raghavendra' turned out to be a flop. But his towering frame, chiselled physique and stylish outfits endeared him to youngsters.

While most others would have left the industry in despair, Prabhas persevered and struck gold with his third movie 'Varsham' which has acquired something of a cult status.

Thereafter, a stream of blockbuster movies like 'Chatrapati', 'Mirchi' 'Billa' among others, cemented his position as a bankable star at the box office.

And then came Bahubali. Thrilled by the concept, and not fazed by the commitment expected from him, Prabhas jumped headlong into the movie directed by ace director Rajamouli. Prabhas did not hesitate to commit five years to the movie. Throughout the making of the epic movie, Prabhas did not take up any new film assignments.

When Bahubali released in 2015, it was payback time for him. But he still had to wait for the sequel to release in 2017. Grossing more than Rs 2,600 crore in all, the movie made history in terms of box office collections.

Although the Covid pandemic put the brakes on filmmaking for the past two years, Prabhas has been a busy man with a few movies in the making.

A very down to earth person, Prabhas is a foodie, enjoys playing volleyball, and watching Rajkumar Hirani directorials. He idolises his paternal uncle Krishnam Raju.

While Prabhas has been romantically linked to his Bahubali co-star Anushka Shetty, the two have never reacted till date. For the moment, Prabhas remains an eligible bachelor.