Whether you discovered Shiva Rajkumar for the first time in Jailer, as the theatre erupted during his entry, or you have been following his work for decades, there is no denying that he is a phenomenal performer. Making his debut with Anand in 1986, Shiva Rajkumar has worked in close to 125 films and earned several accolades for his work.
Despite being born into a prominent film family, he only joined an acting school in Chennai upon the insistence of Tamil filmmaker K Balachander. He is also popularly credited with introducing the ‘gangster movie’ genre to Kannada films after his massively successful Om. Here are five popular Shiva Rajkumar movies that have been loved by the masses, as well as earned him critical acclaim:
Anand marked Shiva Rajkumar’s entry into the Kannada film industry, and it was a super hit. Directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, Anand also earned Shiva Rajkumar the moniker ‘hat trick hero’ as he went on to act in three commercially successful films subsequently. Anand is a light-hearted and entertaining romantic comedy featuring Anand (played by Shiva Rajkumar) and Mala (played by Sudha Rani) who are at loggerheads, but eventually fall in love.
Where to watch: MX Player
Starring Shiva Rajkumar, Prema, and Srishanthi in lead roles, this 1995 movie was extremely successful and catapulted Shiva Rajkumar to superstar status. Directed by Upendra, Om won Shiva Rajkumar the first of his four Karnataka State Film Awards. Deemed a cult classic, the movie revolves around the life of a gangster Satyamurthy Shastri (played by Shiva Rajkumar) who is entangled in a revenge plot after he is forced to falsely testify and frames an innocent man for murder. The movie has been hailed for its gritty and unflinching portrayal of the Bengaluru underworld. However, Om has also drawn flak for the way it portrayed romance as Satyamurthy stalked Madhuri (played by Prema) and persuaded her to accept his advances.
Where to watch: YouTube
Directed by Om Prakash Raj, A.K. 47 is yet another movie that has received cult classic status. The movie follows the story of Ram (played by Shiva Rajkumar), a young man brought up in a strict household where discipline takes precedence over anything else but finds himself being interrogated for terrorist activities. A.K. 47 also has Om Puri and Girish Karnad in lead roles and was made simultaneously in Telugu with Saikumar in the lead.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Written and directed by Prem, Jogi earned another Karnataka State Film Award for Shiva Rajkumar. Jogi/Madesha (played by Shiva Rajkumar) comes to Bengaluru from a village in Karnataka to earn a living. However, Madesha is wrongly accused of murder while working at a tea stall and eventually joins a notorious gang. Madesha’s mother Bhagyakka (played by Arundathi Nag) comes to the city in search of her son and the rest of the movie is a heart-wrenching journey of whether she is able to find him or not. The movie was remade in Telugu as Yogi and in Tamil as Parattai Engira Azhagu Sundaram but neither of them was commercially successful as the original movie.
Where to watch: MX Player
Written and directed by Narthan, Mufti is a crime thriller following a police officer Gana (played by Sriimurali) who is trying to hunt down a dreaded gangster named Bhairathi Rangal (played by Shiva Rajkumar). Unlike the usual police-criminal chase, the movie keeps the audience on the edge of their seats and is peppered with several plot twists. Mufti is considered to be one of the highest-grossing films in Shiva Rajkumar’s career. It was also remade in Tamil in 2023 as Pathu Thala starring Silambarasan and Gautham Karthik.
Where to watch: Zee 5