The film opened to mixed reviews in December 2011, though Prashanth won positive reviews for his portrayal of the tribal man, with a critic from The Hindu noting the actor performed "perfectly" and as the "hero has slogged it out – it's only fair the industriousness is rewarded". The film took a good opening at the box office, but it however petered out to do average business commercially and due to its big budget, failed to recover costs. Career decline (2012–present) Prashanth's latest films have been synonymous with remakes, expansive press releases and long production delays. He began making Saagasam, a remake of the Telugu film Julai (2012) during 2013, but the film had a delayed release in February 2016. Throughout the production, the film went through several changes in cast and crew and opened to mixed reviews, with a critic noting "Prashanth, making a return to the screen after quite a while, gives his best, but we can't help but feel that this required an even younger hero" and "what lets the film down the most is that it is directed without any feel for the material, so we are unsure if we need to take the film seriously or as a spoof". During 2014 and 2015, he worked on the proposed remake of the Hindi film Special 26 (2013), and despite several press announcements unveiling updates and proposed cast members, the film was later transferred to a different production team. In early 2017, Prashanth worked on the thriller film Johnny, a remake of the Hindi film Johnny Gaddaar (2007). The film went through changes in cast before being released in December 2018 to mixed reviews from critics and a below average opening at the box office. A comeback to Telugu films through a supporting role in Vinaya Vidheya Rama (2019) was also unsuccessful, with the film garnering negative reviews and having a poor performance commercially. In March 2013, it was reported that the Tamil film Naan would be remade in Hindi with Prashanth in the lead role. Despite a production delay, Thiagarajan confirmed that the film would be made during an interview in December 2018. Moreover, in November 2013, Prashanth announced that he had registered the title Jeans 2 and was completing the pre-production works of a sequel to the 1998 film. The film was set to be directed and produced by Prashanth's father Thiagarajan, who revealed that