Radhe Shyam Movie Review: Prabhas, Pooja Hegde film has glossy visuals but lacks soul

Prabhas and Pooja Hegde's Radhe Shyam, directed by Radha Krishna Kumar, has great potential in its premise. However, apart from brilliant visuals and production design, the film lacks soul.

Pan-India star Prabhas and Pooja Hegde’s Radhe Shyam was billed as an epic love story. Now, this could've gone two ways. Either, it could be an ‘epic’ love story as it intended or it could be a disaster of epic proportions. Radhe Shyam leaned more towards the latter as the story lacked the emotional moments and, more importantly, the soul.

Vikramaditya (Prabhas) is a world-famous palmist. In other words, he’s the Einstein of palmistry. No, it’s not an exaggeration, but the actual introduction to Prabhas’s character. Throughout the film, Vikram claims that he cannot fall in love as he does not have a love line. He is seen with multiple women and calls it a 'flirtationship'. But, when he meets Prerana (Pooja Hegde), everything changes for him.

Health-wise, Prerana is fighting her own battles and she comes to know of Vikramaditya’s prediction during their courtship. Does their love have the power to change their destiny? Will Prerana and Vikram end up together?

Radhe Shyam begins on a promising note. We see a group of scientists meeting Guru Paramahamsa (Satyaraj), who is a palmist and runs a school. The conflict between science and astrology is established right there. Paramahamsa’s character is grounded and understands the challenges of science and astrology. This sets a great tone for the rest of the film.

Here's the trailer:

Sadly, Radhe Shyam takes a familiar route with predictable elements. The film falls flat because it literally has nothing new to offer. We are shown Vikramaditya’s ‘almost’ nomadic life, and his flirtationships with women. When he meets Prerana in the most dramatic way, we are not emotionally invested in it. In a love story like this, the emotional quotient needs to be solid for you to feel what the director wants to convey. For a film like Radhe Shyam, which talks about unconditional love, time and destiny, having a stale screenplay is a huge disappointment.

However, the second half of Radhe Shyam will try to suck you into its world. When Prerana and Vikramaditya’s courtship moves to the next stage, the screenplay gets better. There’s tension, a sense of longing and anticipation. The experience of this big-budget film gets a tad bit bitter and you are left wanting more.