'Shivam Bhaje' Movie Review
Ashwin Babu who gained fame through ‘Raju Gaari Gadhi’ movie series has thrilled the audience last year with ‘Hidimbha’. He is now arriving with ‘Shivam Bhaje’. The trailer looked promising and we need to see if the promise has been fulfilled or not. Let us dive into the review straightaway.
Story:
Chandrasekhar alia Chandu (Ashwin Babu) is a load recovery agent. He loses his father in childhood which makes him not believe in god anymore. Apart from doing his job, he falls in love with a girl and gets ready to marry off his sister as well. At this time, a fight leads to him losing his eyes. The doctor operates on him and gives him new eyes but they bring a lot of troubles for Chandu. His life changes a lot and a lot of memories come to him unwillingly. What is the story of those eyes? What happens to Chandu? How are the murders happening in the city linked to these eyes? Answers to these questions form the rest of the story.
Analysis:
Though there is no written formula, the audience will love the movie if the screenplay is strong and the taking is quite strong. It is very necessary in thriller and one can’t do anything about it. While commercial cinema works if many elements are added, ‘Shivam Bhaje’ gets destroyed. It is a medical thriller that raises curiosity at the beginning. But the influence of some other movies including ‘Kantara’ can be seen. They even included the Pakistan-China border issue as well. In the middle of these, there is a romantic angle between hero and heroine, Aadi’s comedy and other silly scenes. ‘Shivam Bhaje’ ends up as a complete mess.
No one would have touched the ‘geno transplant’ issue of animal parts in a human body. Director Apsar tried to offer something new to the audience with this story backdrop. It is a surprise and even the scenes create a bit of curiosity. But the story needs a lot of time to settle. Though the story begins on a good note, the film tests your patience with routine scenes. The love and comedy scenes do not engage you at all. On top of that, there are elevation shots and mass fights that spoil the flow of the movie. The audience fail to get involved in the movie due to these. The director should have maintained the tempo but keeps the audience hooked with a lot of questions. The way he unties the knots in this film is okay.
But ‘Shivam Bhaje’ lacks the engaging factor that one expects in a thriller. The ‘Kantara’ treatment backfired here. The climax looked like an exact rip-off of ‘Kantara’ and we end up laughing unnoticingly. The other serious threads also did not sync with the movie. There is a lot of silliness and logic goes for a toss. The ‘Geno Transplant’ is the only thing that sustains interest to an extent. The director failed to present what he wanted to say in a convincing manner. The second half is slightly better than the first half but the movie is still not up to the mark.
Performances:
Ashwin Babu surprised everyone with ‘Hidimbha’ last year. Despite the film not working commercially, the story is quite different. Ashwin picked another interesting story in the form of ‘Shivam Bhaje’. But did not suit for the role or the story. His wish to become a big mass hero can be seen in the elevation scenes and mass fights he does onscreen. There is no scope for such scenes in these stories. Ashwin looks good but his acting is not great. We can see his acting skills here and there in ‘Hidimbha’ but it is not the case for ‘Shivam Bhaje’.
There is nothing to say about Digangana Suryavanshi. He neither offered glamour nor a good performance in this film. Arbaaz Khan played a role with different shades but his acting is quite artificial. Murali Sharma is okay but Brahmaji’s comedy did not work out at all. Hyper Aadi threw some typical punches whenever he was onscreen but they did not serve any purpose. Tulasi, Tanikella Bharani and Ayyappa Sharma are okay in their roles.
Technicians:
Vikas Badisa’s music fails to impress. The two songs are passable but he made ear drums bleed with his background score. The action scenes did not work out and his loud music makes it unbearable at places. It did not have thriller music that will enhance the movie. Shivendra Dasaradhi’s cinematography is just okay and the producers have spent more than Ashwin Babu’s market value. The production values are good and director Abdul Apsar’s story and attempt should not be faulted.
His efforts are visible but he failed to add curiosity to the proceedings. The narration is all over the place and the movie went off track trying to say too many things.
Verdict: Shivam Bhaje – Bad Narration & Execution!
