Director Radha Krishna Kumar, along with Prabhas and Pooja Hegde, awaits the release of 'Radhe Shyam' on March 11. In this interview, he talks at length about the film, how the project happened, its delays, braving Covid-19, the promotions, why its premise is novel, inspirations for the story and more.

Highlights:

After 'Jil', I was enlisted by UV Creations. I had worked under director Chandrasekhar Yeleti garu and we inconclusively worked on an idea. I revisited this idea when I wanted to do a film with Prabhas garu. Luckily, I could crack the idea in six months. The producers played ball. Prabhas garu, too, liked it.

I haven't made any changes after 'Baahubali' became a blockbuster. From the beginning, the scale of the film was a big one.

Prabhas garu is a very good friend. He is an exciting person who has child-like enthusiasm for things. I feel lucky to know him. After I narrated the basic idea, he suggested a few changes. He likes makeovers and trying new stuff. He described the idea of 'Radhe Shyam' as fantastic. When I wrote the love story, I didn't know that he was looking for a love story.

Cherio, who lived in the 19th Century Europe, is the life on which Prabhas garu's character has been written. He travelled to India to study astrology. Vikramaditya (Prabhas) is a palmist who has mastered palmistry.

I am fascinated by astrology because it has lived on for millennia. It hasn't gone out of fashion because there must be something in it. There are some elements in it that are not unique to the Indian culture. Even other cultures feature those elements. There are some astrologers who come out only during elections and help political parties select candidates.

I wanted to base the story in India somewhere in a hill station. Then we changed the idea. Europe is a production-friendly continent. Moreover, UV Creations has shot a few movies there. The songs were shot in Austria. The scenes were made in Italy and Georgia, among others. Sets were erected at Ramoji Film City (where the climax portions were shot) and Annapurna Studios. There are portions shot on a ship.

When the pandemic began, we were in a state of panic. The Georgia schedule had to be cut short. Four days of the shooting remained pending. A lockdown was imposed. During the second wave, I contracted Covid-19 and the shoot had to be cancelled for a few days.

'Radhe Shyam' was planned to be completed fast initially. It's true that fans have been expecting updates from me on social media. But this project has got delayed due to factors that were not in our control. 'Saaho' got delayed because of a heavy schedule in Abu Dhabi. The pandemic later caused further delays.

Social media is changing even the Presidents of countries. Cinema is expanding like anything in terms of reach and marketability. Social media will be leveraged in this mission by filmmakers.

I am more confident that this is a meaningful love story in terms of a unique conflict plot point. Also, Prabhas and Pooja Hegde are the best-looking pair in terms of body language, tallness or chemistry. VFX and miniatures add to the visual grandeur of 'Radhe Shyam'. Technicians from 10-12 countries have worked on the post-production front. A good chunk of the work came from Ukraine, where the studio completed their works fast in the face of an impending war.

A number of good things happened during the making of this movie. Thaman coming on board is one of them. He has seen the film the way I see it. His understanding is unfiltered. T-Series has produced the Hindi version. It's their call to enlist more than one music director for the songs. The south Indian versions have music by Justin Prabhakaran, whose music is soulful.

I spotted Pooja Hegde at a star hotel. She looked gorgeous. She too was looking for a big film at that time. Her performance will be liked by one and all.

Amitabh Bachchan garu will be narrating the Hindi version. We will be announcing the names of the narrators for other versions soon. Mahesh Babu garu is not the one narrating the Telugu version.

Nothing as yet has been materialized on the front of my next project. Opportunities have been coming my way definitely.

From March 1st or 2nd, promotions will be kicked off in a full-fledged manner. Two events will be held in Mumbai and Chennai. A second trailer is also going to be released. The audience will enjoy visual grandeur and visual poetry in 'Radhe Shyam'.

Palmist-protagonist is a new idea. There are some real incidents in the film. They are exciting to know about. 'Radhe Shyam' taps into our interest or the lack of it in astrology.