Radhe Shyam, written and directed by Radha Krishna Kumar is an attempted visual poetry about the battle between love and destiny. The story revolves around Prabhas, essaying the role of a palmist, who overturns his odds of having no love line in his palms to manifesting a love story with Prerna, played by Pooja Hegde.
Unlike most Indian parents who are insanely particular about caste and religion when it comes to marriage, the couple in Radhe Shyam, Vikram Aditya and Prerna are blessed with unrealistic desi parents who have no qualms about their kids' lovers or even better, they actually have cheerful conversations about how much they scored with kisses. So you get the world this is set in.
Vikram Aditya (Prabhas) dabbles between being a palmist, poet and a playboy all at once. He even coins a term for his relationship called “flirtationship” legitimising his commitment issues. All said and done, he at least asks for consent, which is a big achievement when it comes to Telugu films of this genre. Prerna (Pooja Hegde) is a doctor who has a thing for open doors in running trains. Believe it or not, with one end of her scarf tied to her waist and the other entrusted into the hands of a random stranger, Prerna just leans out train doors have her “commercial heroine” moments with the photogenic smiles and hair flicks. However, as an actor she also gets some scope to perform, especially in a scene which is dedicated to showing extreme happiness and sadness simultaneously. The romantic sequences between Prabhas and Pooja will either hit home as very cute or slightly cringe depending on your current relationship status. I obviously found it slightly cringe. Anyways, let’s move on.
Sathyaraj, known better as Kattappa from Baahubali, thankfully doesn’t ruin Prabhas’ life in Radhe Shyam, maybe because Prabhas as Vikram Aditya tries to ruin it himself. Talented actors like Jayaram and Jagapathi Babu are used as mere props to add credibility to the belief and the disbelief of astrology. Of the many guest roles, the character of an archer, Tara, is reasonably memorable .
The ship sequence at the end of the film where Prabhas fights a tsunami (yes, you read that right) reminded me of Dhanush’s famous dialogue in Aadukalam, “Naanga laam tsunami laye swimming ah podravanga” ( I can swim off with swag, even in a tsunami). The level of suspension of disbelief in Radhe Shyam is such that even a miracle in the film is depicted as an absolutely believable stunt.
However, the music of Radhe Shyam is worth mentioning. Justin Prabhakar’s melodies (Tamil version) have depth and the ability to transport us to a magical landscape. The film also tries to offset its age-old love story with its grand sets and wallpaper worthy frames. While I want to credit the director for his brilliant visual intelligence, the cinematographer and the production designer for the picturesque visuals, I think they are the real villains of the film in a way because they make us question if it was all really worth the trouble.
Radhe Shyam is also style with little substance. It aspires to be a one of its kind love story with a humungous budget behind it but just falls flat.
Rating: 2.5 Quints Out of 5
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