<i>Shiva</i>: Promo Watch

By: Gaurav Malani, IndiaFM
Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Warning: Faint-hearted people are strictly advised not to watch the trailer of Ram Gopal Varma's next directorial venture Shiva. Well you might say that RGV had warnings like these in his past films like Vaastu Shastra and Darna Mana Hai which hardly lived up to the hype. This time though, there is no cautionary note in the trailer, but ironically the trailer is scary enough. No, there isn't anything spooky associated with Shiva. But the opening shot is graphically gruesome and might not go down the weak-hearted viewers.

We have seen enough killings and carnages in Hindi films happening in broad daylight amidst public appearance. The opening shot of Shiva is on similar lines. So what's new, one might ask? The line of attack is more horrific than ever with a mob slaughtering a human by nailing him down right in his skull. The bazaar bystanders look silently with aghast eyes.

A police officer witnessing the entire act prefers to ignore the entire episode and turn a blind eye towards his duty to maintain law and order in the society. And that's when the background score plays the oath taken by police officers while joining their duty.

And then the following lines flash on screen

Promo Clips Promo 1 45 80 150 220 (Real player)

When the police itself is infested with criminals...
And the very purpose of it seems defeated...
Is it right to be wrong?
Or is it wrong to be right?
One man wanted an answer
And the simplistic movie logo follows Shiva

Ram Gopal Varma's current favorite Mohit Alawat who plays the title role appears on the screen in the garb of a policeman. Well if you though that Shiva is a remake of Alawat's last film James like it was highly publicized when started, that isn't true. If you thought that Shiva is a remake of RGV's first Hindi film Shiva starring Nagarjuna; that again is false. Shiva might be in the same vein as that of the above mentioned films falling in the genre of hard-hitting realistic cinema. But in terms of story, it reminds more of RGV's Shool where Manoj Bajpai played an idealistic cop. The story surely doesn't appear to be anything novel. But so has been the case with RGV's bunch of films in the recent past like James and D. The technique and presentation is where the filmmaker makes all the difference. Sarkar being the best example for a Godfather remake.

Mohit Alawat maintains the same cold-blooded image as that in James but his face looks more expressive. Even the brawny look of James isn't repeated over here with his muscles taking a backseat in his police uniform. His character Shiva is the one who wouldn't take any crap and fight back against injustice.

His James co-star Nisha Kothari plays a journalist in this film. While she makes a dialogue that is often repeated in many Hindi films saying that "ek aadmi ke aisa sochne se kuch farak nahi padega", Mohit gives her a crisp reply saying "baat ek ki nahi, baat soch ki hai". That's shot-execution, the Ramu style!

Ram Gopal Varma's recent movies have appealed to a certain section while repelled many of his other old fans, but one thing is for sure. The trailers of his movies are interestingly edited that allures the audiences' attention on first look.

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