A documentary titled Exploring Shiva after 25 Years was released on the film's silver anniversary it is the first documentary about a Telugu film. In addition to the Filmfare Award for Best Film – Telugu, Siva won three Nandi Awards: Best Director (Varma), Best First Film of a Director, and Best Dialogue Writer (Bharani).
It was screened in the mainstream section of the International Film Festival of India, held on 19 January 1990. Although Venkat and Surendra expected the film to have average earnings, it was commercially successful and went on to become the highest grossing Telugu film of the year Siva completed a 100-day run in 22 centres and a 175-day run in five centres. Produced on a budget of ₹7.5 million, Siva was released on 5 October 1989 to critical acclaim, primarily for its technology and sound design. Except for three days of shooting in Madras (now Chennai), Siva was filmed in Andhra Pradesh. It's principal photography began on 16 February 1989, and was completed in 55 working days. Thota Tharani and Sattibabu were the film's art director and editor, respectively. Ilaiyaraaja composed Siva 's soundtrack and score, and S. Varma's script was based on his experiences as a student at Siddhartha Engineering College in Vijayawada. Siva explores the concepts of student exploitation by anti-social elements and the impact of crowd psychology. The film's basic plot, adapted from The Way of the Dragon (1972), revolves around the conflict between college student-turned-gangster Siva and Bhavani, a reputed crime boss mentored by the politician Machiraju. Produced by Akkineni Venkat and Yarlagadda Surendra under their banners of Annapurna Studios and SS Creations, Siva stars Nagarjuna, Amala, and Raghuvaran. Siva (also spelt Shiva) is a 1989 Indian Telugu-language crime action film written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma in his directorial debut.