Sweet Home – 5th Dec – Mulakkada Currey

The reasons behind the ballooning budget of The Raja Saab are gradually coming to light. Previously, reports highlighted how the Prabhas-Srinu episode significantly increased costs due to Prabhas’s decisions. Now, another major factor has emerged—song rights.

Using old, iconic songs in new films has become a popular trend in Tollywood. When done well, a vintage track can greatly benefit a film, as seen in Gaddalakonda Ganesh (Velluvocchi Godaramma), K Ramp (Idemitamma, Maya Maya), and even Mana Siva Shankara Vara Prasad Garu (Sundari…) across three languages. However, old songs cannot be used freely; filmmakers must first acquire the rights, which can cost several lakhs per song, and in rare cases, even crores.

For The Raja Saab, the team wanted a strong mass song featuring the hero with three heroines. Prabhas suggested remixing the iconic disco track “Koi Yahan… Aha… Nacho Nacho” from Disco Dancer. Once he insisted, the filmmakers had little choice but to comply. The vintage song rights reportedly cost a staggering ₹11 crore—an amount far higher than even top music directors like Thaman command for their compositions.

While this expense could have funded multiple new songs, Prabhas’s fondness for the classic track left the production with no alternative, further inflating the already hefty budget of The Raja Saab.