[1] The film begins with the brutal murder of a Mumbai man named John by a group of gangsters led by ruthless kingpin Bappu Ganesh.

[2] Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com rated the film one out of five, writing, "In the original, Raghuvaran exuded menacing energy with his smouldering eyes.

"[3] Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM gave the film one out of five, writing, "On the whole, SHIVA is a poor show, with nothing except gruesome violence on display.

"[4] Jaspreet Pandohar of BBC.com wrote, " Everything from the dull good versus evil storyline, to the terrible casting of lead actors reeks of a bad decision.

An honest cop fighting unscrupulous elements holds little novelty today, even if an accomplished storyteller like Varma directs it.