Game Changer review: Ram Charan and SJ Suryah make this political tug of war worth watching

Over the years Shankar has created a niche for himself as a director tackling issues of corruption and presenting social crusaders of different natures. Some of his protagonists take extreme measures like the extremely popular Gentleman (1993) and Anniyan (Aparichitudu) (2005).

On the other hand, you have Mudhalvan (1999), in which a television presenter becomes a chief minister. He ends up repairing the rotten system while staying within his powers.

Despite repeatedly tackling corruption themes in different forms, Shankar has enjoyed a huge fan base in not just Tamil but also Telugu. His Tamil dubbed movies have many admirers, in the recent past though the celebrated director has lost his mojo due to certain datedness, Bharateeyudu 2 (2024) being the best example.

The recent release Game Changer comes with a lot of pressure for Shankar, as there are doubts about his abilities to adapt to the present audience.

Synopsis

With Game Changer, Shankar proves that he has still got it, particularly the way in which he has designed the different shades of Ram Charan’s character and some solid moments between the protagonist and the antagonist.

He also discusses vote bank politics, in which poor people are given money to vote for a candidate belonging to a specific political party.

The storyline of Game Changer focuses on the battle between Ram Nandan and his father Appanna. It is about a generational fight between a father and son against societal injustices. SJ Suryah plays the chief antagonist Bobbli Mopidevi.

Bobbli has major aspirations of being a chief minister. To fulfil those dreams, Bobbli can go to any extent. Senior actor Srikanth also plays the grey-shaded character of Bobbli Satyamurthy. In the flashback portions, Bobbli is initially shown to be an admirer of Appanna, but things take a very drastic turn.

Strong aspects

Game Changer is a political drama
‘Game Changer’ is a political drama. (X)

As already mentioned a strong aspect of Game Changer is how Shankar has designed the dual roles of Ramcharan. The character of Ram Nandan on the one hand is high on swagger and Ram Charan pulls it off in a charismatic manner.

He brings in the required authority to command the screen, particularly in the confrontation scenes with SJ Suryah. As Appanna he brings in an emotional depth. Appana is a man who suffers from a serious stutter.

In spite of his inability to deliver powerful speeches, Appanna is driven by a single-minded goal of changing the corrupt political system. Ram Charan does a very good job of bringing out the various nuances.

SJ Suryah has emerged as a wonderful character artiste in the last few years and in this one too, the actor makes for an extremely formidable antagonist. SJ Suryah does a terrific job of portraying the obsession of Bobbli Mopidevi.

His trademark dialogue delivery coupled with the mannerisms is a delight to watch. Srikant in a grey-shaded role also deserves appreciation for his effective portrayal of a guilt-ridden man. The way he showcases the transition of Bobbli Satyamurthy from an admirer to a backstabber has been wonderfully written and enacted.

Among the two female leads Anjali as Appanna’s wife leaves a significant impact. Her role as Parvathy is an important emotional anchor and this has come out very well despite having less screen time. The mother and son scenes in the second half are another major asset.

Weak aspects

Ram Charan in Game Changer
Ram Charan in ‘Game Changer’. (X)

A major drawback of Game Changer is the insipid love story between Ram Charan and Kiara. All the sequences featuring the two have been weakly written.

Kiara doesn’t bring much to the table, other than looking beautiful and dancing energetically. Also, the portions featuring the likes of Priyadarshini and Satya among others are a major misfire. Despite their proven abilities, the comedic situations lack the required punch.

The climax is also too elongated with repetitive action sequences. The movie needed a much crisper edit in the closing portions. The cat-and-mouse game between Ram Charan and SJ Suryah though well-written gets repetitive.

Technical aspects

Thaman’s songs also enhance the narrative. On one hand, there is the upbeat “Jaragandi” and “Raa Macha Macha”. On the other hand, there is also the soulful “Arugu Meedha” picturised on Ram Charan and Anjali. Thaman has also delivered a thumping background score, particularly the portions elevating Ram Nandan.

Like most of Shankar’s movies, this too is visually grand. Cinematographer Tiru does a very fine in capturing the grand visuals through his lens. Sai Madhav Burra’s dialogues are also quite effective particularly the ones featuring Ram Charan and SJ Suryah.

The portions where Ram Nandan talks about the dangers of accepting money from a political party and subsequently voting for a particular person deserve a special mention.

Final take

Overall Game Changer is a passable political drama majorly enhanced by Ram Charan’s double role and S J Suryah’s antics. Don’t expect vintage Shankar and chances are you won’t be disappointed. For die-hard Ram Charan fans though the movie would be an absolute treat.

(Views expressed here are personal, edited by Sumavarsha)

Bharateeyudu 2: A bloated sequel which doesn’t have the emotional complexities of the 1996 blockbuster

Director S. Shankar does a better job in the second half when he touches upon the consequences of cleaning corruption in your home. The ostracization that Siddarth’s Chitra Aravindan faces does touch the viewer’s heart, but the movie doesn’t come across as a whole

  • Starcast: Kamal Haasan, Siddarth, Samuthirakani, Kalidas Jayaram, Bobby Simha, Rakul Preet Singh and others
  • Direction, dialogues, story and screenplay: S Shankar
  • Producers: Subaskaran Allirajah and Udhayanidhi Stalin
  • Production Companies: Lyca Productions and Red Giant movies
  • Running time: 3 hours
  • Music director: Anirudh Ravichander
  • Cinematography: Ravi Varman

The genre of vigilante movies owes a lot to Shankar. Many of his movies have tackled corruption and featured crusaders of different natures. For example, in Gentleman and Aparichitudu (Anniyan) in Tamil, the protagonists took extreme measures to wipe out the rot in the system. On the other hand, there was Mudhalvan, where a television presenter ended up becoming a Chief Minister. In Mudhalvan, it was about repairing the system while staying within it.

Coming to the 1996 movie Bharateeyudu, it was one of its kind for those times. Apart from Shankar’s typical vigilante tropes, the movie also had some solid emotional drama with the vastly different viewpoints between Senapathy and his son Chandru, both played by Kamal Haasan. The writing and direction had shades of nuance, with Chandru not being painted as an all-out villain.

After a long gap of 28 years, the sequel is here, and the typical elements of Shankar, like long-drawn speeches and rants on corruption, have clearly worn out. It is high time that he finds a new cinematic language while talking about the same issues.

Indian 1 and 2. Shankar needs to change his cinematic language while talking about the same issues.

Indian 2 begins with the introduction of Siddarth’s Chitra Aravindan and his three friends. They run a YouTube channel called ‘Barking Dogs’. This channel makes political satires using the comic strips of R.K. Laxman. They can be called digital media activists. The channel receives a lot of views, but there isn’t much of a ground impact. In this situation, Aravindan believes that only Senapathy, aka Indian Thatha, can clean the rotten system. They start a campaign with the name ‘Come Back Indian’. Aravindan firmly believes that Senapathy is alive even after all these years, and his hunch turns out to be true. In a Facebook Live video, Senapathy tells all the youngsters to focus on exposing the corrupt individuals within their families while he would wipe out corruption through extrajudicial methods. However, this two-way route comes with its own dire consequences that severely affect both Senapathy and Siddarth and his friends. Running parallel to this is the track of Bobby Simha, a CBI officer hot on the trail of Senapathy. He is the son of the inspector Krishnaswamy from the 1996 film, played by the late Nedumudi Venu.

Siddarth runs a YouTube channel Barking Dogs

The first half of Bharateeyudu 2 is a slog in more ways than one. The typical elements of Shankar are dialed up 100 notches. There are excessive dialogues on corruption, and the way Senapathy comes back to India appears very convoluted. The tweets of Come Back Indian trending so fast feel comical, to say the least. The rich businessmen that Senapathy kills seem to be an amalgamation of Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi. All of them are North Indians with a big appetite for wearing bling clothes. Senapathy uses different martial art techniques.

All of them come across as irritating caricatures rather than flesh-and-blood characters. The conversations of Kamal Haasan with these men play out way longer than needed and border on utter ridiculousness. For instance, a rich man gallops like a horse for a long distance after Senapathy strikes him. As audiences, you are completely unmoved because of the flat writing and staging.

However, Shankar does redeem himself in the second half, particularly in the scenes that showcase the aftereffects of Senapathy’s advice. Chitra Aravindan exposes his own father, resulting in severe discord with his mother, who eventually ends up committing suicide. Chitra Aravindan isn’t even allowed to perform the last rites, facing severe ostracization. Siddarth’s showdown with Kamal Haasan has some powerful dialogues where the character questions Senapathy on how his advice of first cleaning up corruption in your own house may look like a great idea but in reality has dire consequences. He further adds that what is the point of having a corrupt-free society when you don’t have a happy home. From being loved by youngsters, Senapathy goes to being the most hated. Senapathy also briefly faces public ire; they throw stones at him. This portion comes late in the second half but saves the movie from being a complete washout.

Siddarth’s showdown with Kamal Haasan

Mention must also be made of the few scenes between Siddarth and Samuthirakani. The emotional scene where Samuthirakani’s character asks his son why he did this, and the subsequent dialogues make a powerful impact. Siddarth scores as an actor, particularly in these scenes.

As Senapathy, Kamal Haasan makes the viewers believe in the superhero qualities of his role. Yes, the role doesn’t pack the same emotional resonance as it did in 1996, but to Kamal Haasan’s credit, he does sell the big speeches.

The music of Bharateeyudu 2 is nowhere close to the first one; however, the background score by Anirudh Ravichander is impactful in a few scenes. The action sequences are way too prolonged and quickly become tedious. Shankar’s eye for grandeur does make the movie a visual feast, but the storyteller Shankar is absent for the most part.