Shiva (1989) watch online HD

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!!

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.

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.

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).

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..

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.