Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (pronounced [bɾəɦmaːstrə]) is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language fantasy action-adventure film[b] written and directed by Ayan Mukerji, dialogues written by Hussain Dalal and produced by Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, Hiroo Yash Johar, Namit Malhotra and Mukerji (in his debut production) – under Dharma Productions, Starlight Pictures and Prime Focus in association with Star Studios, along with Ranbir Kapoor and Marijke DeSouza.

Drawing inspiration from tales in Hindu mythology, the story follows Shiva, an orphan musician with pyrokinetic powers who discovers that he is an astra, a weapon of enormous energy.

Principal photography lasted from February 2018 to March 2022, with filming locations including Bulgaria, London, New York City, Edinburgh, Thailand, Manali, Mumbai and Varanasi.

In present-day Mumbai, Shiva, a DJ, falls in love at first sight with Isha Chatterjee, a London resident who is visiting India for the Durga Puja festival at her grandfather's pandal.

[39] He explained how from the Brahm-Shakti, astras were born, which compose all the different energies that are found in nature like Jalāstra (water), Pawanāstra (wind), and Agnyastra (fire).

[90][91] On 10 April 2022, a motion poster featuring Kapoor and Bhatt's characters, and set to the song "Kesariya" – sung by Arijit Singh – was released, along with a still version.

[103][104] On 13 June 2022, an announcement video was released, revealing that actor Chiranjeevi will be lending his voice to Kapoor's character, Shiva, for the film's Telugu dubbed version.

[39][117] On 17 July 2022, hours prior to its release, the song "Kesariya", was unveiled in a livestream hosted by Bhatt and Mukerji on Instagram, in which they also discussed about the making of the track.

[120][121] On 6 August 2022, a featurette was released featuring Mukerji sharing his complete journey and process till Part One – Shiva from the beginning of his vision for the Brahmāstra film trilogy.

[172] On 2 September 2022, the Delhi High Court, under an interim order, restrained eighteen piracy websites from illegally streaming the film on the Internet, following a lawsuit filed by Star India.

The website's consensus reads: "Ambitious yet uneven, Brahmastra Part One: Shiva offers definite pleasures for Bollywood fans, although the incessant spectacle may ultimately overwhelm many viewers.

[192] Avinash Lohana of Pinkvilla rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva is a classic example of ambition meeting vision and an immersive experience that promises entertainment".

[193] Amandeep Narang of ABP News rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "Brahmāstra deserves its due respect and place in Indian cinematic history".

[194] Rachana Dubey of The Times of India rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Brahmāstra borrows from Indian mythology and folk tales, which is fantastic.

[197] Fengyen Chiu of Mashable India rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Brahmāstra is a complete visual feast rooted deep with Indian mythology.

[198] Sonal Verma of Zee News rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "The screenplay is filled with love, light, magic, ancient mysticism and mythology.

[199] Devesh Sharma of Filmfare rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and encouraged readers to watch Brahmāstra for "its visual appeal" and for "the burning chemistry" between Bhatt and Kapoor.

[200] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and called it "ambitious and entertaining", further stating it "has the makings of a blockbuster of the sort that Bollywood has been desperately seeking for a while".

[201] Sukanya Verma of Rediff rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and stated it as "a work of star-struck ambition and high-octane energy whose razzle-dazzle hits many happy notes".

[202] Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva gets the pyrotechnics right but fumbles in creating an emotionally involving alternate reality".

[203] Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Brahmāstra constantly tries to make your jaw drop to the floor with the visual effects, but since we never empathize with the characters on screen, it remains a distant spectacle".

"[207] Anuj Kumar of The Hindu stated "Despite the presence of Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Amitabh Bachchan, the film's writing turns out to be its biggest drawback with all the hype over Indian mythology just being a cosmetic cover".

"[215] Pooja Biraia Jaiswal of The Week rated the film 1 out of 5 stars and said Mukerji "has wasted the skills and popularity of Shah Rukh Khan, Nagarjuna, and of course, Amitabh Bachchan".

[218] Courtney Howard of Variety called the film "a wildly entertaining jump start to a planned trilogy" and was appreciative of Mukerji's direction: "He smashes up genre conventions as Western cinematic influences readily co-mingle with pure Bollywood razzle-dazzle.

"[220] Mike McCahill of The Guardian rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Mukerji brings a peppy, wide-eyed spirit to the superhero-movie model, adorning tried-and-tested arcs and beats with workable Pritam songs, ravishing colours and gorgeous people".

[221] IndieWire rated the film C+ in a mixed review criticising the cast and performances, calling them "bloated" and concluded by stating it as an admirable attempt and unmissable theatrical experience for any Bollywood fan.

[227] Media outlets noted the title of the film's sequel that is unveiled after its ending, Brahmāstra: Part Two – Dev, serving as the second and penultimate instalment of the trilogy.

[16] Mukerji revealed Disney had sent him to Los Angeles as an attendee for an international studio summit in May 2022, where he presented Brahmāstra, and discussed plans regarding the film's potential cinematic universe with American producer Kevin Feige.

Mukerji further revealed his vision to develop a streaming television series in the Astraverse, as well as theatrical projects, in a similar vein to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

[230] Mukerji revealed a spin-off film based around Shah Rukh Khan's character Mohan Bhargav was in consideration, which would serve as an origin story about how he wielded Vanarastra.