[intro] Despite huge promise, Shivam delivers only in comedy but for Ram fans, the feeling you get is you have seen this movie before and it’s unbearably long. [/intro]
Tollywood’s ability to churn out zombie movies never runs out of steam. “Shivam” is another toast to the never-ending saga of heroes who are good for nothing but woo the girls, tame the villains in their own dens, make fools of them, round them up and bash them up at will and then walk away with punchlines. Of all the dozen heroes ruling the film industry, Ram is a hero who continues to walk down this beaten path.
Having entered the film industry with the backing of his uncle Sravanthi Ravi Kishore, Ram has so far delivered three big hits including the recent “Kandireega”. But largely, his films are lacking in good taste and variety of fare even if he is going from good to great in metrosexual looks. In “Shivam” despite rich production values of Sravanthi Movies and a galaxy of starcast from top Bihari villains to cuties like Raasi Khanna, the treatment is banal and superficial to the point of getting irritating. Director Srinivas Reddy choses the lowest common denominator story that suits the body language and defiant one-liners mouthed by Energetic Star Ram. But we have seen this movie before – that’s the sense you get despite watching a zillion attempts by an army of villains and comedians.
Comedians actually carry the film on their shoulders starting with Krishna Bhagwan who resurfaces on screen after a long time. As a face-reading astrologer, he acts well after a long gap with trademark punchlines. Brahmanandam makes an early entry but fails to create impact. On the other hand, comedians like Srinivas Reddy, Prabhas Seenu, Fish Venkat, Saptagiri pack punches at different times keeping the entertainment quotient high. The villains also add their bit in giving variety to a lacklustre plot devoid of any twists. Posani Krishna Murali as the father of Ram creates good impact whenever he stages comeback in the film, he produces laughter louder than the gunshots he fires in every frame he shows up. But for the comedy scenes, there is nothing home to write about in this film.
Back to Shivam, director Srinivas Reddy could have cut down the film by forty minutes of silly gaffes, songs and fights and we could have had a slicker film that would have given a run to recent releases which hold your attention in shorter time. Raasi Khanna looks glamorous and cute in songs. DSP’s music is good in parts but despite the compliments at the audio launch, his music fails to uplift the monotony of the film’s story. The sequence at the climax which justifies the title of the film for the hero’s name comes too late when the audience is already looking for the exit door. On the whole, a monotonous film with a bland story line and unreasonable length. Skip it, as you won’t miss much.
Rating: 2.25/5