Shivam Bhaje Review: Ashwin Babu’s Film Takes Viewers For Granted, Fails To Impress

Ashwin Babu’s Shivam Bhaje was released on Friday. This action entertainer with a spiritual twist hits the theatres a year after Hidimbha. Similar to Hidimbha, Shivam Bhaje is also a concept-based film. Arbaaz Khan, who made his Telugu debut in 2005 with Jai Chiranjeeva, also plays an important role in Shivam Bhaje.

Plot

Top leaders in China and top militants in Pakistan have joined forces to destroy India in a high-risk plan that involves biological terrorism. Ashwin Babu plays Chandu, a small-time insurance agent who loses his faith in God after the death of his father. There is also a series of murders with the same motive that are being investigated by ACP Murali (Arbaaz Khan). How are these three stories connected? What role does the deity Shiva play in this story? When everything turns against him, will Chandu still rise to save the day?

Performances

Ashwin Babu sometimes overdoes his performance in this film. It is difficult to say whether it is because of the script or Ashwin himself. That was the problem with Hidimbha, too.

For people familiar with Arbaaz Khan’s work in Bollywood, his presence may have some star value but other than that, he doesn’t have much impact on the role. The casting of Arbaaz Khan in this role is quite cliched.

The female lead Digangana Suryavanshi has little to offer, she bears some resemblance to Catherine Tresa and Anu Emmanuel.

Brahmaji shines in his brief role. Hyper Aadi adds a comic touch to the film. Murali Sharma, Tanikella Bharani, Tulasi and others add weight to their roles with their limited but impressive presence.

Technical Details

Shivam Bhaje’s story is very ambitious but the limited budget is insufficient to do justice to what is on paper. The subplots in China and Pakistan have poor production quality, as do the few VFX sections involving Shiva. The cinematography is also an eyesore: objects look gigantic while the visuals are flat and generic. Every other technical aspect of this film is just generic and not memorable.

Analysis

First of all, the film feels 10 hours long, which is due to its draggy treatment and narrative style that takes the viewer for granted. Technically, a thriller has to have different parts of the story that make sense at the end as they come together to give an overarching meaning and closure to the rest.

But, many Tollywood writers have misunderstood this task. The result is an otherwise simple story that is split into countless plot threads that have been rearranged and scattered haphazardly throughout the two-hour runtime. Shivam Bhaje takes this shortcoming to a confusing, frustrating extreme. There are far too many subplots that come and go.

The film has a certain shock value, especially in the interval block. The film also reinterprets Pashupati, an avatar of Shiva, in a modern way through the character of Chandu. While these ideas sound exciting on a conceptual level, the execution plays with the audience’s patience. The script is not smooth enough and leaves many gaps, so the audience is expected to figure it out on their own.