Reviews

Shivarjuna movie review: Chiranjeevi Sarja, a host of other actors are wasted in this inferior product

A Sharadhaa

After making average box office grossers like the romantic Male and the commercial caper Dhairyam, director Shiva Tejas’s third outing, Shivarjuna, is laden with elements of run-of-the-mill action, crass comedy, mediocre acting, hackneyed script, and underutilised talent. With all these put together, he seems to have achieved the perfect debacle. Using the rising popularity of Chiranjeevi Sarja just does not work when the big picture is puny.

Shivarjuna
Shivarjuna

Shiva (Chiranjeevi Sarja) is often seen fighting with local thugs, which irks Bharavi Sindhuri (Tara), a strict officer living in the area. She also ensures that her son Shiva Nandi (Sri Krishna) does not get close to him until one day, when Nandi gets kidnapped. Shiva goes all out and safeguards her son. His concern for the two takes the audience to a flashback mode, taking a revengeful twist centred around two families -- Ramegowda (Avinash) and Rayappa (Ravi Kishen).

Both are always at loggerheads, and Rayappa is on the lookout for Ramegowda’s son, only to kill him and end the family. But he has been missing for the last 20 years. Will Ramegowda get to see his long lost son? How Sindhuri and her son are connected to Ramegowda’s family is revealed through the narration. Running parallel is the budding love between Paru (Amurtha Iyengar), the daughter of Rayappa’s younger brother, and Shiva.

Shivarjuna consists of an ensemble cast including a host of comedians -- Sadhu Kokila, Kuri Pratap, Vishwa Taranga, Shivaraj KR Pete and Nayana. Shiva Tejas has put the entire story in the second part. The director stuffs the first half with crass comedy, double entendre dialogues, loud scenes and a lot of action. Akshata Srinivas, who plays a doctor, is merely used to show her deep cleavage and voluptuous thighs.

It is time Chiranjeevi Sarja analyses his caliber and select subjects that suit his popularity. Even though he is a performer, the commercial actor should avoid trying to impress his fans with familiar plots. It is a fresh character for Amrutha Iyengar, who plays a village belle for the first time.

Individually, senior actors like Tara, Avinash and Ravi Kishen have done justice to their roles but remain unimpressive, thanks to the script. The director has not made use of a fine actor like Kishore, who plays a key role in the film.

Technically too, the film fails. Most likely, the makers themselves have remained clueless about the direction the film has taken after watching the final cut. Shivarjuna is a perfect example of a film that should not have been made.

Movie: Shivarjuna

Cast: Chiranjeevi Sarja, Amrutha Iyengar, Akshata Srinivas, Sadhu Kokila

Director: Shiva Tejas

Rating: 2/5
SCROLL FOR NEXT