Radhe Shyam Movie Review: A love story whose destiny could have been better..

REVIEW: A set of scientists reach out to Guru Paramhansa (Satya Raj), who is running a Vedic school of sorts. There’s a visible conflict between him and one of the scientists who questions his deep belief and study in astrology and palmistry. The sequence introduces the audience to Vikram Aditya (Prabhas) who is called ‘India ke Nostradamus’ in the film, and whose predictions never go wrong.

Vikram claims throughout the film that he does not have a love line and wants a flirtationship and not a relationship. And yet, he falls in love with Dr. Prerana (Pooja Hegde) - a girl who is fighting some inevitable circumstances in her life. The contradiction here is Vikram Aditya’s reading of her palm that indicates a bright future while the events in her life are pointing to a different direction.

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The story attempts to drive home a point that no science is absolute and 100 percent accurate; and that there’s always a small but bright chance to change your destiny with karma. And this applies to even the world’s best palm-readers. However, in run-time of about 140 minutes, which also seems tediously long, the core thought doesn’t reach its desired mark. Hence, the film fails to create the impact it could have with all the apparatus it had at its disposal, including well-known names in each technical department and a bunch of good artists.

The characters of Pooja and Prabhas have not been etched with enough depth, clarity or reasoning. This also impacts their individual performances, although the actors have made an effort to play their parts convincingly. The screenplay is cluttered with pointless moments, characters who don’t serve the story, and several unexplained situations that leave you wondering how and why.

The film has been shot on a grand scale in different parts of Europe, lending it a fairytale-like appearance which is a plus. It does offer a grand visual treat. The music by Mithoon, Amaal Mallik, and Manan Bhardwaj blend well with the backdrop of the story.

The picturization of some of the songs reminds the good old music videos made several years ago. The VFX deserves applause and adds to the visual quality of the film. But all of this barely salvages this love story whose destiny could have really been something else.