Will ‘Radhe Shyam’ click in Hindi?

Every Telugu film is not a Baahubali or a Pushpa both of which became pan-India hits. This is the saddening truth that is bothering Telugu superstar Prabhas as he gears up for the release of his new lavish period drama Radhe Shyam which gives the Baahubali star a totally new romantic image. But will Prabhas’ fans like to see him get down on his knees to woo Pooja Hegde?  His post-Baahubali release Saaho was a flop in Hindi. Prabhas and the makers of his Telugu-Hindi-Tamil love saga Radhe Shyam (where let us clarify, keeping in mind Salman Khan did play Radhe more than once, that Pooja Hegde plays Radhe while Prabhas plays Shyam)  are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that  the film works in the Hindi belt. While the film’s success is duly ensured in the South due to Prabhas’s superstar status, there are no guarantees for dubbed Hindi films from South working unless it’s a brand/franchise like Rajamouli (RRR) or KGF. Radhe Shyam boasts of being neither. The producers UV Creations who have incurred heavy losses in recent films are a worried lot. The producers (UV Creations) cannot risk another failure after their earlier productions Ek Mini Katha and Saaho underperformed. They are going all-out to promote the film in the Hindi belt also. The intense love story is a new genre for Prabhas. The producers are not sure of how the audience will respond to Prabhas doing a moonstruck Romeo,” says a reliable source from Hyderabad. Says producer and trade analyst Girish Johar, “The buzz around the Hindi version of Radhe Shyam   is pretty low. The excitement and craze down South are unparalleled but in the Hindi region it is below the mark. Still Prabhas is a huge star and Pooja Hedge too has a good fan-following, if the film is liked by the Hindi audiences, I am pretty much sure that its feedback and word of mouth will help it get a decent box office start.” Analyst Atul Mohan explains, “The buzz and excitement surrounding the film is missing in at the Hindi belt. Maybe due to lukewarm response to the trailer released couple of months back and similar response to the revised trailer of the film released last week. The songs also haven’t picked up (in popularity) and when you project your film as a love story, songs play a very important role in its popularity, anticipation and success. No doubt, Prabhas is a big star down South and is hugely popular in the Hindi belt also. But expecting each film of his to be a Baahubali is not justified.” Akshay Rathi feels, “I don’t know about Radhe Shyam. But what works in every language is Prabhas. He is one of the biggest superstars of the country, has a massive fan-following and has the ability to draw in the audience with just his face on the posters. For a film like Radhe Shyam with its massive budget and Prabhas, I hope and pray the audiences will show up in large numbers.” But, even before the release on 11 March, the Radhe Shyam team has pressed the panic button and voluntarily cut around 20 minutes of the film before it reaches theatres.