Nagarjuna-RGV’s Shiva to re-release in theatres on this date
In August, we had reported that Nagarjuna is planning a grand re-release of his 1989 landmark film Shiva. On Saturday, which also marks the 101th birth anniversary of his father and legendary actor A Nageswara Rao, Nagarjuna announced November 14 as the re-release date for the film.
Taking to his X page, Nagarjuna posted, “On my dear father ANR ‘s birthday, I am pleased to announce the film that shook Indian cinema is coming back to shake the theaters again.” In a separate press release, Nagarjuna dedicated the Shiva re-release to his father, stating, “My father always believed cinema had the power to live beyond generations, and Shiva was one such film. Bringing it back to the big screen on 14th November in a completely new avatar of 4K Dolby Atmos is a tribute to his dream of keeping stories alive forever".
Reposting Nagarjuna’s post, Ram Gopal Varma added on a lighter note, “Hey Nagarjuna, it’s not a children’s film, but coming back on children’s day will out children’s glee on a lot of faces.”
What makes the re-release special is that the team is planning to use highly advanced AI engineering to remaster the sound of Shiva from original mono mix to Dolby Atmos. The first re-release teaser of the film, with remastered sound, was released with Coolie’s theatrical prints. The makers are also reportedly planning to re-release the film later in Tamil and Hindi.
Produced by Annapurna Studios and backed by producers Akkineni Venkat & Surendra Yarlagadda, Shiva starred Amala as the female lead and Raghuvaran in a memorable negative role. Marking the directorial debut for Ram Gopal Varma, Shiva delivered a gripping portrayal of students being exploited by anti-social elements, drawing from Varma's own experiences as a student in Vijayawada, and gained an instant classic status with its stylistic realism.
Shiva was also one of the rare Telugu films back then which was entirely remade in Hindi with nearly the same cast and crew, after its resounding success in Telugu.
