After several delays, Prabhas-starrer Radhe Shyam is finally hitting screens on March 11 in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. The movie marks the first collaboration between director Radha Krishna Kumar and Prabhas. Radhe Shyam is the director’s second project which is bankrolled by UV Creations. Ahead of the film’s theatrical release, Radha Krishna interacted with the media in Hyderabad. Here are excerpts from the conversation: Why did you pick Radhe Shyam as your second film? I worked as a writer and assistant director with director Chandrasekhar Yeleti, and we both worked on the story idea for a long time but failed to come up with a conclusion. It is a story that has increased my love for cinema. So, when I thought of doing my second film, I thought to work on this story once again. Luckily, I was able to come up with the conclusion for it within six months. Radhe Shyam’s story was locked even before Baahubali. Did you make any changes to it after the success of Baahubali movies? Everybody was very confident about Baahubali’s success during its filming. So, we also planned to make Radhe Shyam on a huge canvas. But, we didn’t make any changes to the story. Tell us about your association with Prabhas. Prabhas is a good friend and a very exciting person. I am lucky to know him and be his friend. What was the reaction of Prabhas after listening to your narration? He was very excited about the story and worked the same enthusiasm until the completion of the project. First, I planned the story with a hill station backdrop in India. But upon the suggestion of Prabhas, we set it against the backdrop of vintage Europe. How confident are you about the film’s success? The movie is releasing after several delays. I am pretty confident about the film’s story. I don’t know if the success and response are in our hands. Our belief in this story is seen in the final output. I believe the audience will also love our effort. Is there any inspiration behind the character Vikramaditya in Radhe Shyam? The character of Vikramaditya in Radhe Shyam was inspired by the European palmist Cheiro. We also developed the story by incorporating two or three real-life incidents. Tell us the story behind casting veteran actor Krishnam Raju. Initially, he was not my choice because of the Covid-19 pandemic and other aspects. He was a producer of the movie. He heard and liked the story. It was more of an emotional decision by Prabhas to have him on board the project. As the cases of Covid-19 declined, he joined the sets. It turned out to be a good experience for me to work with stars of two different generations. Thaman provided the background score for the film. It is one of the best things to have happened to Radhe Shyam. He is somebody who elevated the emotions. The way he gave the BGM is next level. It entertains you and elevates the film in the theatre.
