Shool (transl. Spike) is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language action crime film directed by Eeshwar Nivas. Written and produced by Ram Gopal Varma, it portrays the politician-criminal nexus and the criminalization of politics in Bihar and its effect on the life of an honest police officer. It stars Manoj Bajpayee as Inspector Samar Pratap Singh and Sayaji Shinde as the criminal-politician Bachhu Yadav, a character loosely based on politician turned criminal, Prahlad Yadav.

Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma, often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Hindi, Kannada language films, and television. Varma has directed films across multiple genres, including parallel cinema and docudrama noted for their gritty realism, technical finesse, and craft. Regarded as one of the pioneers of new age Indian cinema, he was featured in the BBC World series Bollywood Bosses in 2004. In 2006, Grady Hendrix of Film Comment, published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center cited Varma as "Bombay's Most Successful Maverick" for his works on experimental films.