RGVs Shiva retake on "cop" films

Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Mumbai (UNI): Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma is set to release, in a new avatar, his debut film Shiva on August 25. The film, starring Mohit Ahlawat and Nisha Kothari in the lead portrays the law enforcement system through the eyes of a young policeman. ''Fifteen years after my debut film Shiva, which starred Nagarjuna and Amla, much has changed around us, in our cinema and also in my perception of things. Hence, I feel the need to return to my base, to retell the story in the present context,'' the prolific filmmaker says. The film also features noted Marathi actors Upendra Limaye and Dilip Prabhavalkar, among others.

The director said, in his debut film, he had highlighted the disillusionment with goondaism in educational institutions through the protagonist who was a college student, the new Shiva is a young officer who has just joined the Mumbai police. The film portrays the conflict of the protagonist's ideals with the harsh ground realities. Varma admits that cop films are overdone. ''I have myself made 'Shool' and Ab Tak Chhappan in this genre. But, here the intention is to bring back the intense hero who ruled the 70s and 80s before he was sent into oblivion by the sugary sweet romantic films. It was that hero who actually made films larger than life with Amitabh Bachchan leading the brigade, and then in varying degrees followed Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha, Mithun Chakravarty, Sunny Deol and others,'' he added.

On releasing Shiva in a new format, Varma said he just wanted to reinvent that genre of films. ''I want to once again catch the spirit of one man taking on the odds when his principles and convictions are under threat. With a completely updated script and today's technical advances, I seek to capture that element of anger present in all of us. Most of us accept injustice mutely. But every once in a while, a rebel comes along who hits back,'' he said.