Sticky reels, ruined negatives, torn frames: How the near-impossible restoration Nagarjuna’s classic Siva was achieved

Nagarjuna spoke about the arduous process of restoring his cult classic Siva into 4K version for its re-release earlier this month.

When the first scene of Ram Gopal Varma’s Siva, restored in 4K, hit the screens, it felt as if someone had transported the Nagarjuna and RGV classic into the modern day. The restoration, complete with renewed audio and video, was done for the film’s grand theatrical re-release this year. But it wasn’t an easy task, as the team behind it revealed in a masterclass at the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.

Nagarjuna in a still from the 4K restored version of Siva.

The film was restored in 4K by Annapurna Studios, the production house that originally released the film back in 1989. Ram Gopal Varma’s directorial debut was brought back to life by CV Rao, Chief Technology Officer at the studio. At IFFI 2025, Nagarjuna and Rao took the stage to talk about the ‘near-impossible’ seven-year journey the film took.

C.V Rao & Akkineni Nagarjuna at the Masterclass at the 56th IFFI.

Nagarjuna and CV Rao talk about Siva restoration

Speaking at IFFI, where the new version of the film was screened, Nagarjuna revealed how the restoration took place. “The remastered version of Siva is stunning. I see so many films coming to life with this. I was talking to Ramesh Sippy sir and told him that I’d love to hear the sound of the coin in Sholay in a new way! Since this is the 50th year of Annapurna Studio, we thought what better film to do this than Siva, which remains a cult classic.”

The restoration process began before 2019, with the team realising they were faced with negatives deteriorating rapidly, and labs shutting down months later during the pandemic. “That’s when we realised we needed to digitise and secure the film properly. When we finally went back to inspect the picture negatives, they were so sticky we couldn’t even unroll them. We had to run them through four to five rounds of ultrasonic cleaning just to make them dry and rollable for scanning,” Rao said.

The team achieved a 4K scan, but the relief proved to be short-lived, as the footage was riddled with extensive “scratches, dust and torn frames”. Cleaning the film frame by frame took a further 10 months. But a further shock awaited the team. Two reels of the sound negative were “completely damaged”, rendering the audio unusable. “We checked whatever was available on YouTube, but that wasn’t good enough for a theatrical restoration,” Rao said.

Fortunately, they were able to find original prints stored by exhibitors. “After reaching nearly 20 such exhibitors, the team found two surviving reels that allowed us to recover the missing audio,” Rao revealed.

About Siva

Backed by Annapurna Studios, Siva is regarded as one of the greatest Indian films of all time. Upon its release in 1989, it not only established Nagarjuna as a top star but also kick-started the directorial career of Ram Gopal Varma. The restored version of Siva was released in theatres earlier this month.