Hyderabad: Actress Sridevi Vijayakumar, who is set to make her return to the big screen with the upcoming Telugu film ‘Sundarakanda’, has opened up about her enduring friendship with Prabhas, her first co-star as a lead heroine.

Speaking at a press conference for Sundarakanda, the actress fondly recalled her debut as a lead in the 2002 film ‘Eeswar’, which also marked Prabhas’s debut as a hero. Despite Prabhas now being one of India's biggest pan-Indian stars, Sridevi says nothing has changed in their friendship.

“The friendship with Prabhas is still the same,” she said. “Prabhas is now a big star. However, he hasn't changed one bit.”

Reflecting on their early days, Sridevi shared that the entire team of Eeswar had sensed Prabhas’s star potential even back then.

“We all thought that he would become a big superstar even during the time of Eeswar. When we were part of a success tour, huge crowds would turn up. Prabhas has become a bigger star than we expected. It is truly a blessing.”

After a hiatus, Sridevi is returning to Telugu cinema with ‘Sundarakanda’, directed by Venkatesh Nimmalapudi and starring Nara Rohit in the lead role.

“I’m very happy to be back,” Sridevi said. “Any actor wants to play a good character. Any character should be strong. I am playing a very meaningful character in this film. As an audience, I liked this movie a lot. The output was very amazing. It has very fresh content and everyone can go to the theatres and enjoy it.”

Produced by Santosh Chinnapolla, Gautham Reddy and Rakesh Mahankali under the banner Sandeep Picture Palace (SPP), Sundarakanda is slated for release on August 27, 2025.

IANS inputs