As Devara hits the screens, a retrospective on director Koratala Siva’s filmography

Writer-director Koratala Siva is coming with Devara: Part 1, starring Jr NTR and Janhvi Kapoor, on September 27. As the film arrives, we do a reflection of his previous works, their themes, and his approach towards star-driven cinema with social consciousness.

Koratala Siva made his debut with Mirchi (2013), starring Prabhas and Anushka Shetty. The film that deals with masculinity, muscle versus heart, and the idea of peaceful conflict resolution turned out to be a massive success at the box office. In fact, the film even elevated the stardom of Prabhas in his pre-Baahubali era. The director made a striking impression on the Telugu audience with the film and created a path for star-driven yet socially conscious writing. 

Later, he turned to Mahesh Babu, and both came with the blockbuster Srimanthudu (2015). Yet again, Siva proved his mettle at doing star service while maintaining his thread of social messaging. Srimanthudu is a simple film, along the lines of the Shahrukh Khan starrer Swades (2004), that talks about philanthropy and the beauty in giving. The film worked magic among Telugu audiences and the critics alike. It cemented Siva's position as a go-to commercial filmmaker with a great grasp over balancing sensibility and excitement. And then he made Janatha Garage (2016) with Jr NTR, Bharat Ane Nenu (2018) with Mahesh Babu, and his last release Acharya (2022) with Chiranjeevi. 

Janatha Garage had a decent amount of acceptance from audiences and critics alike, and the film was mainly appreciated for its theme of environmentalism. However, as the film drives towards its final act, it turns into a mess with no particular destination. The screenplay structure of the film is too similar to his Srimanthudu, with the hero's journey arc and playing the saviour from the second act.

Although most of his films were successful at the box office, they eventually became formulaic. Koratala Siva’s idea of always leaving the audience with a message created a monotony in Telugu cinema, where superstars like Mahesh Babu spent almost a decade making similar films with plots that dealt with adopting villages, empowering rural areas, or giving a strong societal message. This idea of taking a trope, fully exploiting it, and finally declaring that it’s a societal sin is something the audience quickly grew tired of. And during this phase, Siva had Acharya with Chiranjeevi, and since the film also starred Ram Charan straight after RRR (2022), there were massive expectations. However, the similar storytelling, the flat dialogue, and the lackluster conflict repulsed the audiences to the film. The actioner turned into a disappointment for everyone involved. In fact, the troubles for Koratala Siva went so far that distributors lined up outside his house, with even the lead star declaring that the film's failure was purely the director's responsibility.

Since the debacle of that film, Siva has been vigilantly observed by the audiences. Now, his upcoming film starring Jr NTR is a litmus test for his ability to balance excitement with social consciousness and deliver a success.

Devara: Part 1 also has Saif Ali Khan and Janhvi Kapoor making their Telugu debut. The film has music by Anirudh Ravichander, and that brought a huge buzz. The film is storming the screens on September 27 with a pan-Indian release in all major languages.