Shiva (1989) User Reviews (9)

Birth of a creative genius (and a rebellion)

[AvinashPatalay · 13 October 2010]

I get nostalgic when I recollect standing amidst the crowd during the shooting of "Shiva" (Telugu version). The very director marked his entry into Indian Cinema with this outing. College life integrates with college politics, then an untrodden terrain and an underlying love story (then a must-have ingredient in any movie) makes up a product called "Shiva".

Nag:: Fresh from the success of "Gitanjali" he was awesome in the role of "Shiva". Communicated more with this intense eyes than dialogues.

Amala:: Good chemistry and I think they were dating during the making of this movie.

Raghuvaran:: Showcased "Pacino meets De Niro" rolled into one in the garb of Bhavani. Left a tremendous impact.

Kota:: Did a fantastic job as the politician. In Hindi it was essayed by Paresh Rawal, equally well.

Then not a rebellion RGV incorporated a few songs into the storyline composed by maestro Illayaraja.

Needless to say the first time director became the talk of the town. Prominent was signature style now, the long-drawn shots, hand-held camera and intense background music which elevated visual experience. Of course, the violence was raw and gritty. The ending is grim (and slightly amended in the Hindi version).

Shiva was released in 1989 in Telugu and 1990 in Hindi. Even now if you were to watch it you can still feel the impact as it did way back then.

Phenomenal ultra violent debut of Indias best director

[augustus-8 · 10/10 · 30 June 2000]

I may be biased since this movie takes place in my home city of Hyderabad,AP in Southern India.The western(esp US) viewer may be bewildered that the film is about political rivalries in college as is very much the case in most parts of India esp my state.One can draw a vague parallel to the student movements of the sixties in U.S.Now if u can ...politicize them even more,strip them of any socially redeeming value and make them a ruthless power hungry grab for turf and dont forget to place in India of the late 80's where the youth are slowly but steadily realizing the sterility of Gandhi's nonviolent policies which had for long enough demoralized the nation and was witnessing the slow and painful death of his beloved dynastic,tyrannical regime of Congress(I). That being said.This is Varma's first film made when he was in his mid 20's.The violence in this film is excruciatingly brutal and graphic.Like the scene where a rival gang proceeds to systematically bash a student leader head with hockey stick and finishes the act by smashing his face on a rock.Another student's face was sliced in half by an axe.Nagarjuna who stars as shy newcomer turned student leader turned mobster is nothing short of brilliant.His eyes wonderfully express his cold ruthless fury.Not to be upstaged is his psychotic nemesis Bhavani portrayed eerily by Raghuvaran.The ending is kinda disturbing but is good because its uncompromising and refrains from a feel good sort of sentiment so prevalent in Indian films. Also this film was kind of a pioneer in technical acheivement esp in sound and photography.It was similar to other films of the seventies and eighties in the sense that it was action film with a social message.But rarely have films with the exception of Satya(also by Varma) get any dark and intense than this.What I find this esp disturbing is that now its mostly love stories ,'family values' and assorted chick flicks that get the most award and box office returns.These are dark days for our film industry!!

One of the best Action Packed Entertainer

[deepakpillai-009 · 9/10 · 13 August 2011]

Shiva is definitely one of the top class action entertainer of its time. For the beginners it was the first time audience saw the use of bike chain as a potential weapon, henceforth followed by goons both in real life and films as well. Shiva gave an absolutely new dimension to action films in India with its fluid packed stunts (something which were unheard of at that time). Such was its intensity that the movie ran jam packed for many months not only in Telugu, but also Tamil and Hindi as well. The film still has cult status down south even today as it saw the rise of one of the Superstars of South film industry in Akkineni Nagarjuna.

classic action movie

[sliddar121 · 10/10 · 27 January 2013]

They don't make films like this anymore!

You can watch this movie many times you will never be bored. Raghuvaran and Nagarjuna excel in their roles.

Most of the films being released now whether Tamil, Telugu or Hindi are to unrealistic, like Rowdy Rathore, Wanted and others, that they just really miss the point regarding the social issues. Action sequences are also unrealistic.

This film is raw, 95% real, to the point and hard hitting just like action films should be.

RGV since this movie has not ever matched the quality of this work again (barring maybe Satya).

Gripping film portraying college youth and politics/crime

[bhuvanesh-tomar · 8/10 · 20 September 2006]

This was a wonderful and powerful debut by Ram Gopal Verma endorsing his talent and intelligence as a director. His typical style of depicting stories most naturally. Shiva (Nagarjuna) is a tough/silent student and has a good friend circle at a college when he encounters college politics through another student who is the brother of a gang-leader (Bhavani). Shiva is shy but portrays his toughness very well. He gets into a fight with the college rowdies and beats them up well only to further ignite a series of fights. He very well portrays the feelings of a student and symbolizes youth in college where seeds of Crime/Awareness/Politics/Virtues all spring up. He defends the standing of his friend in college elections and promises to protect him against any harm, but the opponents manage to beat him up brutally to his death. This further fuels Shiva's anger and he takes them head-on. He shakes up the whole gang order and reaches Bhavani but loses his love Amla. Finally he kills Bhavani after risking his career/life/love. A gripping movie with a great college song. No nonsense movie and worth a collectible..

Game Changer for Telugu Film Industry

[Vihari_Krishna · 10/10 · 14 August 2014]

The group of Telugu movies can be conveniently divided into two eras. Pre-Siva era and Post-Siva era. Such was the impact of this movie.

Firstly, the guts of Nagarjuna must be appreciated. He was then not in a state to give a chance to new comers as he himself was not an established hero then. But, he took the decision raised curtain for the most historical turning point Telugu film history.

This movie introduced one of the greatest directors to the Telugu Industry.... Ram Gopal Varma. Popularly known as RGV. The range of the success of the film is often termed as gigantic.

Coming to performances.. Nagarjuna just steals the show with his angry young man look. He is very good. There are only a few dialogues for Nagarjuna in this film. But he lets his eyes to speak everything. This is what we call "Performing with Eyes". It is a refreshing characterization given to a hero.

Amala is good. Tanikella Bharani is superb. But, the second hero of this film is undoubtedly Raghuvaran. He is excellent in the role of a baddie. Rest of the cast did their part very well.

S.Gopal Reddy's camera work is mind blowing actually. Many shots are picturised using Steady-Cam. Apart from all these, Ilaiyaraaja's Background Score stands out.

Coming to the minus points, the movie has some excessive amount of violence. Some still argue that this movie provoked youngsters to get into college politics and all.

On a whole, it is definitely a Path-breaking film in Telugu. You can watch it just for Nagarjuna, RGV, S.Gopal Reddy and Ilaiyaraaja.

One of The BEST ACTION ENTERTAINER Still Now.

[MandalBros-5 · 8/10 · 25 April 2021]

We can't deny that RGV is one of those directors who took part in changing the typical Bollywood zone. Don't know about now, but RGV was one of the Best directors in his earliest times. So, today Recommending his first directorial feature, Shiva.

Nagarjuna was so calm and cool in this film. And Raghuvaran was fully villainous. It's one of the earliest good action drama film.

After watching the film you'll realise many films have taken inspiration from this film. Though the film is bit lengthy, you'll not get bored at any point because of the tight screenplay.

In my opinion this is one of the best action entertainer still now.

Available on Youtube, Amazon Prime Video, Airtel Xtream & Mubi.

© MandalBros.

Watching in 2019 is a different feeling

[vrachakonda · 8/10 · 27 November 2019]

It's hard to rate an industry classic honestly and accurately, especially one as hallowed as Siva. Watching in 2019, some plot holes (i.e. how does he get married and acquire power so quickly) and technical mishaps (i.e. many scenes where extras are out of character or poorly shot) tend to weigh on the viewing experience a little heavier than in 1989.

With all that said, Siva is still an absolute must watch. Its obvious directorial innovations, Nagarjuna's and Raghuvaran's acting, and the realistic elements of the storyline continue to dazzle 30 years later. What frankly surprised me is how outstandingly gripping the movie is; I didn't expect to be on the edge of my seat for so long. I cannot imagine what the experience must have been like in the theaters.

It's clear why the film retains an iconic status in the pantheon of Telugu cinema. Highly recommend for all viewers.

RGV made a Super powerful movie which will be remembered for ages

[ShitizSays · 10/10 · 26 March 2020]

RGV, the director is lost now but what he did with his first film can never be forgotten. From Shiva to Satya, there was God lying in his mind. Shiva is a film that comes once in a lifetime and not many people have the guts to make it. I remember watching Shiva when i was a kid and mesmerized by the film. I didn't know who Nagarjuna was, who Amala was and was least concerned about the director. At that time the biggest impact on my mind was left by the villain of the film Raghuvaran. He literally became my nightmare for days and I was worried he was coming after me. Somehow I never saw the film in completion until I grew up so basically I never saw Raghuvaran getting beaten up in the second half of the film which further increased my fear for him. The film is a milestone in terms of story line and how it was shot. It is a typical underdog story where a man called Shiva who is very shy but have surprising amount of anger inside him fights against any injustice incurred on him. Shiva is not someone who will meddle with others in their business unless someone hits him or someone near him, he is not bothered about what is happening around him. But when a college Villain crosses his path, he has to retaliate and the weapon he chose becomes the most famous weapon of fighting in colleges after that, it was the cycle chain. That was the most interesting part oft he film where the graph of the film went roaring high. That fight sequence where Shiva first time shows his anger and his power, not just to the goons but also to the audience.is the highest peak of excitement in the films. The rest of the film is how he deals with the goons and his associates after that. I am not much fan of the movie after the second half. The problem was that the character of Shiva had shown his full capabilities and we know how much capable the villain was. There was nothing much left to anticipate in the second film except for the moment where the hero will beat the hell out of the villain. But the overall film was a treat to watch and you won't get bored watching it second time or many other times. I love how RGV handled the foley in the film and not use background score too much which gave the fighting sequences more depth and feeling of reality while viewing it. Nagarjuna nailed the character of Shiva and other characters were equally good too. The casting was superb. The film is a must watch.