#RadheShyam Review: What National Media Says

After its grandeur promotions, intriguing trailer, and fascinating posters, the long-awaited film of the year ‘Radhe Shyam’ from the Pan-India star Prabhas has been released today and fans are elated to witness their hero on big screens. While Telangana and Andhra gave their mixed reactions so far, it is national media portal reviews that needs a special mention here.

Prabhas has a massive fan base across the nation and fans were curiously desperate to watch Radhe Shyam on the first day itself. Also, several popular websites reviewed passionately as soon as the film got released. But what and how they felt about the film is a big deal, especially after Baahubali and Pushpa have set certain standards of Tollywood.

Here’s how the national media sites quoted the film:

NDTV: “Prabhas and Pooja Hegde are saddled with a screenplay that allows them little room for manoeuvre. The end result is calamitous” read the main statement. The site further concluded that the film is “an ill-formed love story that is hard to fall in love with. If the devil is in the details, he is everywhere in this film, which seems to be out to prove that the line between blockbuster and lacklustre is precariously thin”.

Hindustan Times: The review started with a disappointing note – “Nothing makes sense in Prabhas and Pooja Hegde’s film about a palmist in love” and ends with a satire – “Radhe Shyam is quite an average watch and while the story would leave you disappointed, it’s the charming Prabhas that might just give you a reason to watch it. There’s a sequence to take you back to Titanic, but don’t think much about it, for the Hollywood film didn’t sacrifice logic for the heart”.

The Hindu: The Hindu calls Radhe Shyam a shallow story and lacklustre screenplay. “When the conflict between destiny and love takes centre stage, the film begins to lose whatever little charm it had. The biggest issue with Radhe Shyam is that it never sucks you in. The ship sequence at the fag end of the film sinks an already shaky film, despite Prabhas being made to scale a tall ship in a Baahubalian manner,” read The Hindu review.

News18: Calling the film a Yamfest, news18 mentions two drawbacks of Radhe Shyam. “First, there is no visible chemistry between Prabhas and Pooja. Their journey of falling in love is often cut rather abruptly to add some comic scenes which don’t evoke any kind of laughter. Second, the love story isn’t palpable enough. It’s no wonder then that the convoluted mess, which goes on for over two hours, fails to tug at one’s heart. There are many pointless scenes and characters which don’t make any sense”.

The News Minute: The News Minute calls Radhe Shyam luxurious but ultimately, plastic. “The characters are under-written, including the lead pair. Though they are likable together, they’re not really convincing as epic lovers like Radhe-Shyam, after whom the film is titled. We don’t feel the passion between them”.

TOI: The Times Of India wrote “the picturisation of some of the songs reminds you of the good ol’e music videos made several years ago. The VFX deserves an 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”.

Meanwhile, on Twitter, a majority of fans loved the movie and took to their handles to share their happiness. However, a few sections of people also took a stride and shared how disappointed they were left after watching Radhe Shyam.