Shivalinga is a 2016 Indian Kannada-language horrorMysterycomedy thriller film written and directed by P. Vasu. The film stars Shivarajkumar and Vedhika. Produced by K. A. Suresh, the film's music is composed by V. Harikrishna. The film's cinematography and editing was handled by PKH Das and Suresh Urs respectively. The film revolves around Rahim who died a mysterious death. The film which began production in 2014 was released on 12 February 2016 to mixed reviews and became successful at box-office. The climax of the movie was reported to be taken straight out of an Agatha Christie novel. Vasu remade the film in Tamil in 2017 with the same title starring Raghava Lawrence whose climax revelation scene was reported to have similarities with director's own 1999 movieMalabar Police. lt was dubbed in Hindi by same name.
Plot
Raheem and his well-trained pigeon Saara are alone in a coach aboard a train when a blind man enters and reaches to door. Raheem saves the man, a killer, who in turn throws Raheem off the moving train to his death. Raheem's death is ruled a suicide, but his fiancée Sangeetha knows that Raheem had no reason to kill himself. The same night, Raheem appears in Sangeetha's dream and says that he was murdered. The following day, Raheem's case is forwarded to CID Shiva at Sangeetha's request. Shiva is a strict CID officer who is married to a thrill-seeker named Satyabhama. The two live near a cemetery. Shiva is assigned Raheem's case and begins the investigation. The same night, Satya sees a ghost of a child and is frightened by this. Shiva, however, could not see the ghost and thinks that she is imagining things. The following day, Shiva visits Raheem's home to investigate Raheem's relationship with his father and Sangeetha. Shiva suspects Sangeetha's father to be responsible for Raheem's death. Satya's behaviour becomes erratic. She drives around the city wearing a black dress, redecorates the house with green curtains and lights, and she cooks biryani, even though she has never made the dish before. Later, a house servant and a few other maids tell Shiva about Satya's strange behavior. Shiva meets his friend Ashok, who is a psychiatrist. He advises Shiva to observe her behaviour secretly. That night, Shiva returns home early. He hears a man's voice and smells a cigar burning. He heads to Satya's room and is shocked to discover that Raheem's soul has possessed her body. Raheem warns Shiva that he must solve Raheem's murder. Shiva accesses the security footage at the Bangalore railway station and discovers that the blind man is the killer. Shiva tracks down the blind man and chases him, finally cornering him on a train coach with no passengers. Satya, who is still possessed by Raheem, enters and demands to know why the blind man killed him. The blind man tries to escape by jumping out of the moving train, but he ends up falling to his death. Shiva takes Satya to a Darga, informing only Satya's mother about her condition. Baba, a holy demonologist, helps them send Raheem's soul out of Satya's body but tells them that it is temporary. He tells Shiva that solving Raheem's case is the only way to save Satya completely. Shiva starts the investigation piece by piece, and Saara helps Shiva by giving him clues. Shiva interrogates Satya at the CID Conference Hall regarding Raheem. Satya reveals that Raheem had got back her Tablet Mobile, which was absconded by a pickpocketer. Satya gets a snap of Raheem for the sake of friendship. Satya's friend gets jealous about this. Out of jealousy and wanting to ruin Satya's life, the friend made a call to Satya's residential landline. It was Satya's father who answered the call. The piece of information made him angry, and he decided to kill innocent Raheem. Then, after unveiling the truth, Raheem's ghost possess Satya's father and kills him instantaneously.
Cast
Shivarajkumar as Shiva CBI Officer
Vedhika as Satyabhama aka Satya
Shakthi Vasudevan as Raheem
Vaishali Deepak as Sangeetha
Sadhu Kokila as a thief-turned house servant
Urvashi as All-time Adigemane Anusooya, Shiva's mother
Initially, Bhavana of Jackie fame was selected to be the leading lady. However, she could not take up the project because of her Malayalam film commitments. Later Vedhika was selected as lead actress. Shivarajkumar is said to be appearing in the role of an CID Officer. The film was launched on 15 December 2014 at Kanteerava Studios. The first schedule of the film was completed at Ulsoor. Vijay Raghavendra was the initial choice for the role which later went on to be potrayed by Shakthi Vasudevan.
