Popular actor Prabhas being the biggest Pan-Indian movie star means all eyes will be on this month’s big budget blockbuster Radhe Shyam.
The hotly anticipated period romance headlined by Prabhas, and massively popular actress Pooja Hegde will be released globally in multiple languages on March 11. The larger-than-life drama’s trailer has generated huge excitement among film fans and early indicators are it will be a potential game-changer for Indian cinema.
Eastern Eye caught up with Radhe Shyam writer/director Radha Krishna Kumar to discuss the mega-movie and his own close connection to cinema.
What first connected you to cinema?
My first connection to cinema was through my parents, I was around 10-11 years old. We were watching a movie scene where my mother was weeping, and my father was smiling. It was a strange experience as both were reacting in different ways to the same scene. I believe that was the moment I understood that each person has their own interpretations of stories and made me think that storytelling was a cool job! And here I am.
What inspired the Radhe Shyam story?
It was my mentor and guru Chandra Sekhar Yeleti’s idea, which we both have worked on for almost 15 years but couldn’t come up with a proper conclusion to the philosophy of the story. With heavy hearts we shelved this idea forever. But somewhere this idea didn’t leave me. It was chasing me in dream and day. I asked Yeleti sir that I want to make this movie with a completely different approach, using just the soul of the idea and he was happy giving it to me. I re-wrote the entire philosophic story into a love story, and it became Radhe Shyam.
Prabhas and Pooja Hedge in Radhe Shyam
Tell us about the film?
Radhe Shyam can be described as three-layered story. A party between love and life. A fight between fate and destiny. A bridge between myth and ancient science! Prabhas and Pooja Hegde’s characters will take the audience on an emotional rollercoaster ride.
What was the experience of making such a huge film during a pandemic?
We were shooting abroad while the first lockdown started around the world. We got struck in international borders as all the international flights got cancelled. Overnight our producers had to change the travel plan. We travelled to a different country to take Indian flights to reach home. It was a scary situation but all thanks to my producers who thought safety as first priority.
What happened next?
And then eight months later after the lockdowns and restrictions were lifted, we travelled back to Europe to finish the rest of the shoot. But unfortunately, 20 per cent of my crew got Covid including me and my cinematographer! Away from home and being quarantined was a scary experience. After the quarantine we finished the shoot and came back safely.
How does this compare to your previous film?
Radhe Shyam is a film where I consider myself being born as a storyteller. There is no comparison to my previous works as a writer or director with Radhe Shyam.
What were Pooja Hegde and Prabhas like to work with?
Prabhas and Pooja Hedge gave their one hundred per cent efforts and bought life to Vikram Aditya and Prerana. In -2ºC they shot for a rain sequence - we were in the tent shivering in the cold unable to even spit a word out, but they both acted in the rain as if it so normal. I believe they were destined to play these iconic lovers.
Do the sky-high expectations around this film scare you?
I am more of excited about these expectations surrounding Radhe Shyam than being scared. We believe it will meet every expectation of audience.
What is your favourite moment in the movie?
My favourite moment is the last scene of the film. I don’t want to reveal anything more about this iconic moment which will leave a lasting impression on the audience.
Who are you hoping connects with this film?
Radhe Shyam is for everyone who fell in love and who will fall in love. This movie doesn’t bracket a particular age or region. It’s an intense romantic adventure for all to experience.
Is there a memorable behind-the-scenes story you can share?
I want to share an interesting experience which happened four years ago when I was researching for Radhe Shyam.
I met many palmists, tarot readers, astrologers and many such people who are into this study of destiny or occult sciences as some call it. One man whom I don’t want to name read my palm and told me about a particular date and what will happen on it. I didn’t believe him and told him that it’s impossible. He simply looked at me and smiled. That day he told me the release date of Radhe Shyam would be in the first quarter of 2022. It still surprises me how he knew about this four-year long delay, or the pandemic or anything which pushed the film’s release to 2022. As they say some things are beyond our understanding.
What can we expect next from you?
I am a big fan of war movies! I might do an action drama in war backdrop. I will reveal the details soon.
Who is your own filmmaking hero?
I am a big fan of Yash Chopra sir and K. Balachander sir. They have a lot of influence on me personally. Present day Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Gautham Menon are my favourites.
Why should we watch Radhe Shyam?
Radhe Shyam takes you home with a dream and wakes you up with a determination to achieve that dream. It’s an inspirational journey from your minds logic to your hearts feeling.
The actor’s evolving style from youth to maturity getty images
Aamir Khan embracing vintage looks with classic charmgetty images
Bold and dramatic changes defining Aamir Khan’s careergetty images
From rugged to refined Aamir Khan’s versatile appearancesgetty images
Memorable film moments showcasing Aamir Khan’s unique stylegetty images
Aamir Khan’s blend of classic and contemporary fashiongetty images
Aamir Khan’s dedication to authentic character portrayals getty images
Cinematic milestones reflected in Aamir Khan’s on-screen imagegetty images
A seated Jain enlightened teacherAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Ganesha from JavaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Chinese silk painting depicting the BuddhaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
ArdhanarishvaraAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Head of a grimacing yakshaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
NagaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Bimaran casketAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Hunia Chawla
A still from rehearsal
Them performing liveNajmuddin Saifuddin Qawwal Group
The cast of Marriage Material in key moments from the play, including Avita Jay, Kiran Landa, Omar Malik, Irfan Shamji and Anoushka Deshmukh
Sathnam Sanghera’s 'Marriage Material' adapted into bold new play on conformity
The play Marriage Material at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre is Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s adaptation of Sathnam Sanghera’s novel of the same name, which first came out in 2013.
She is lucky to have Iqbal Khan direct Marriage Material. The play, a co-production with the Birmingham Rep, is set in the late 1960s. Mr and Mrs Bains (played by Jaz Singh Deol and Avita Jay) run a corner shop in Wolverhampton. Their younger daughter, Surinder (Anoushka Deshmukh), is 16, her sister Kamaljit (Kiran Landa) is just a bit older.
They have a neighbour, Patwant Dhanda (Irfan Shamji), who, as we shall soon see, is not a very pleasant man. In fact, he comes across just as racist as Enoch Powell, who represented Wolverhampton South West for the Tories from 1950 to 1974.
It will be recalled this was a time when Sikhs working on the buses were told they couldn’t wear a turban. That was a hard-fought battle that had to be won.
The Bains, meanwhile, simply want to get their girls married off.
Nothing new here, I thought.
What makes the tale different is that the plot twists and turns down the generations. Mr Dhanda, who has the makings of a paedophile, makes a pitch for one of the girls when Mr Bains dies early in the play. “A life with no man in the house is no life,” he informs the newly widowed Mrs Bains.
Mr Dhanda has a wife but she has returned to India so he considers himself to be a free man.
Surinder’s English teacher from school, Miss Flanagan (Celeste Dodwell), who is also head of the fifth form, tells Mrs Bains about her daughter: “I don’t want to embarrass you, but she is bright. Ridiculously bright.”
She adds: “Mrs Bains, I think it would be a pity if Surinder didn’t stay on at school.” The initial response from Mrs Bains is not encouraging: “Too much education makes people’s brains get mixed up, they don’t sleep at night…”
But she is finally persuaded that Surinder should be allowed to stay on for a while longer before being married off.
Mr Bains was very old school. When Surinder confides she would one day like to be “a somebody”, he is amused that “my daughter wants to be a somebody”.
“Like you,” she tells her father.
Mr Bains consoles his daughter: “We will find a somebody for you to marry.”
At the point of a possible marriage, however, Surinder is sweet-talked by chocolate salesman Jim Wilson (Tommy Belshaw) into running away with him. They share a love of literature, and he calls her “Sue Bains”. But the relationship does not end well.
Once she has left, Surinder is written off as “dead” by her family. The story that is circulated is that she was only 16 when she was killed in a car crash. That’s better than to let on that she ran off with a white man.
By the time she is reconciled with her sister towards the end of the play, a great deal has changed. Kamaljit married Tanvir Banga (Omar Malik), a young man who helped out in the Bains’ corner shop. When the two sisters meet again, Tanvir has also died. But he and Kamaljit had a son, Arjan Banga (Jaz Singh Deol doubles up for this role after the death of Mr Bains). He has come home after his father’s death to help his mother who is still running the family corner shop.
Meanwhile, Mr Dhanda’s business has prospered. He now has a son, Ranjit Dhanda (the role is taken by Omar Malik after Tanvir’s death), and he is nearly as unpleasant as his father.
Arjan has an English fiancée, Claire (Celeste Dodwell). In London, Arjan worked as a creative director. But after deciding to stay in Wolverhampton to help his mother, he decides he cannot marry Claire because she is white. In other words, Asians are not free of racism, either. Happily, at the end, the couple are reconciled.
As for Surinder, she parted company with Jim Wilson after realising he was all talk, depended on her for money and had failed to earn a penny from his literary pretensions. She had prospered, though, as a hotel owner and had been transformed in time into a well-groomed businesswoman. After being tracked down by Arjan, she decides to return to her roots in Wolverhampton and help Kamaljit run the family corner shop. Perhaps 50 years had passed during the passage of the play.
Being subjected to racism turned some Asians into racists themselves. The word goreh (white person) is repeatedly spat out with venom. Maybe it is worth remembering the play’s audience isn’t exclusively Asian – white folk are watching as well. And maybe some of the toilet humour ridiculing white people, which always makes me cringe, could be cut out.
In Sanghera’s novel, there is a quote from Enoch Powell’s speech in November 1968: “The West Indian or Asian does not, by being born in England, become an Englishman. In law he becomes a United Kingdom citizen by birth; in fact, he is a west Indian or an Asian still... he will by the very nature of things have lost one country without gaining another, lost one nationality without acquiring a new one. Time is running out against us and them. With the lapse of a generation or so we shall at last have succeeded – to the benefit of nobody – in reproducing ‘in England’s green and pleasant land’ the haunting tragedy of the US.”
In Marriage Material, where the acting is marvellous (apart from Mr Dhanda’s Indian mannerisms and accent being overdone) we do travel across a couple of generations.
There is a scene when Tanvir rejects Mr Dhanda’s vision of creating a little Punjab in Wolverhampton.
Mr Dhanda wants to take over the Bains’ corner shop and is putting pressure on Tanvir to sign the papers. He says: “In this country, money is the path to freedom.”
“Sign, please,” he instructs Tanvir. “We must make sure our children learn to behave nicely, according to our rules.”
He insists: “We maintain our identity so we can be ourselves.”
Tanvir disagrees: “We can be us here. With the goreh.”
Dhanda warns him: “Then we will be inviting chaos.”
Tanvir’s comment is telling: “You sound like Enoch.”
Kamaljit, who is expecting a baby with her husband Tanvir, says: “I would like my child to grow up knowing the history of the Gurus and to read the Granth Sahib. And to love their culture.”
Tanvir tells his wife: “I would like my child to go to the finest schools, to cheer for England in the World Cup and eat Yorkshire pudding on a Sunday.”
Kamaljit sets out a dream that has perhaps come to pass with many third and fourth generation British Asians: “Maybe our child can do both.” Much, much later, in a throwback to the past, we learn of Surinder’s O-level results: “Biology A, Chemistry A, English Language A, English Literature A, French A, History B, Latin A, Mathematics A, Physics A…”
Kamaljit tells her younger sister: “Never mind about the B.”
And that is quintessentially Asian. Their acting is outstanding.
Marriage Material is at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre until June 21, and at the Birmingham Rep from June 25-July 5