Pooja Hegde: Recreating a similar impact for Hindi and Telugu versions of Radhe Shyam was challenging

Actress Pooja Hegde, who's in the form of her life, scoring consecutive hits in her career and growing from strength to strength, as a performer, is awaiting one of the biggest releases Radhe Shyam this weekend. She plays Prerana, a doctor and pairs up opposite Prabhas in this multilingual epic saga directed by Radha Krishna Kumar. In an interaction with OTTplay.com, she opens up on the film, the impact Prerana has left behind on her and why she would always be indebted to the Telugu film industry.

On playing Prerana in Radhe Shyam

Prerana is one of the most challenging characters in my career, she's very intriguing and has a lot of depth to her. I had to do a lot of research, go past many books. I don't want to spoil the suspense for you and she'll surprise you at the theatres. I signed Radhe Shyam after DJ, Saakshyam happened and I've grown as an actor through the making of Radhe Shyam over these four years, doing a wide variety of work. I've given my heart and soul for this and I'm sure many of you would come back to me saying how good I was, in reference to many scenes.

On the impact the character has left behind

I learnt to give a lot more through Prerana. She has made me a stronger person and I hope audiences recognise the strength in her. She is happy-go-lucky, stubborn, playful, naughty, more than what I'm in real life. I played this part for four years and this isn't your regular hunky-dory love saga. It's a serious, mature romance and getting back into my part during the COVID-19 was tough. I don't have to worry about I looked in Radhe Shyam, the film was shot like a dream, all thanks to cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa. All I had to focus was on my performance.

The many challenges of Radhe Shyam

Radhe Shyam was simultaneously shot in two languages - Telugu and Hindi- and the film has many emotional scenes. The fact that I researched extensively for my part helped me internalise Prerana and the pain she's going through. I didn't have to use glycerine for the most part. I couldn't get over the emotions while shooting for one language itself and having to recreate that same impact for both languages was difficult. It was like shooting for two different films. I realised this more while I was dubbing for it. 

I made great memories shooting in Georgia, Italy and Radhe Shyam will always be special. It was scary to shoot amidst COVID-19 with a constant worry of being infected but we pulled it off. One of my favourite aspects of Radhe Shyam is the music. When you watch it in the theatres, it'll bowl you over. The Telugu version of the music has grown on me over time and the language itself is so beautiful. I think I and Prabhas make for a good-screen pair. I've been a sucker for romance since childhood and I'm glad I got to do a romance on such an epic scale.

About the comparisons with Titanic

Whenever people see a ship sinking, it's quite natural for them to compare it with Titanic. Jokes apart, I think it's a great compliment. There's no similarity between both the films though. The film has a fantasy world and it's rare for a female lead to have such a well-written role in a film of this scale. I made up my backstory of Prerana and Radha Krishna Kumar had a fantastic interpretation of the way she looks at life. I always add a bit of my experience to the characters I play and make it more fun.

Her interest in astrology, about the destiny angle in Radhe Shyam

I believe in astrology a lot. Indian culture is extremely rich and I feel there's great science behind it. I have heard many interesting predictions about my future. Sometimes, we blame astrology entirely because someone makes one wrong prediction. I feel like sadhus in our past were able to foresee a lot of things and a lot of their scriptures, texts were ahead of time. 

The significance of dance in her career

As a child, I was introverted, had a lot of stage fright and my mother pushed me into dancing (Bharatanatyam). I learnt Bharatanatyam for over 10 years and I feel dance changed the way I look at my life, has been my asset in crucial phases of my career. Right in the early stages of my film entry, I got to work with the best of the dancers, be it Hrithik Roshan, Jr. NTR or Allu Arjun. Somewhere my knowledge in dance helped me match up to their moves.

Various co-stars and their aura

Everybody comes with their own energy on sets. With Jr NTR, he's so spirited and is brimming with energy, finishing all his scenes within one take, thanks to his command over the language. Allu Arjun is no less energetic on sets and has his own aura. Prabhas, unlike what he comes across in his interviews with the media, is quite a jovial person on location, cracking a lot of jokes, sending amazing food to everyone on set. One scene was being shot in Italy and when multiple members in my team were affected with COVID-19, Prabhas asked his cook to offer us great vegetarian food. I and my mom couldn't have asked for anything more.

Proving her odds wrong with her choices

Before I did DJ, many perceived that I can't pull off glamourous roles, but I proved them wrong in the film. After DJ, a few labelled me a glam doll, and I showcased my ability to adapt in different roles with films like Most Eligible Bachelor and Radhe Shyam. I am happy I'm proving my detractors wrong every time. 

This year, you'll get to see me in a variety of roles. From a standup comedian in MEB to a doctor in Radhe Shyam, you'll see me as this traditional girl in Acharya, followed by crazy avatars in Beast and Bhaijaan. I have no control over how the films fare at the box office, but what I can do as a minimum is to convince you with my portrayal.

Why Telugu cinema holds a special place in her heart?

While I keep doing Hindi films because I grew up watching them, I have a very different association with Telugu cinema. Telugu films have made me what I am today, have given me my identity and the power to choose what I do. The respect I have today is because of this industry and I'll always be indebted to it. Telugu audiences even in the US drive for hours to watch a film and have animated discussions on my role in it. I am blessed to receive such love from audiences. I want to make an effort to speak in Telugu, dub regularly.