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Game Changer review: Ram Charan's charm meets Shankar's old school direction in a Nayak, Sivaji: The Boss mashup
S Shankar's latest film, Game Changer, features Ram Charan as an IAS officer. Despite vibrant visuals, energetic performances, it struggles with a clichéd plot.
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What goes on inside filmmaker S Shankar’s mind is a mystery. Because his approach to his films is almost always out of the box. The way he conceptualises his songs, his action sequences… it’s an overdose of colours, music and VFX.
Does this hold well in 2025 though? What he did with Robot (2010), Sivaji: The Boss (2007), and Nayak: The Real Hero (2001) many years back- does it still find takers? Gamechanger, unfortunately, doesn’t change anything when it comes to giving the quintessential masala potboiler a new twist.
Ram Charan’s stardom of course, is going to come in handy to get the people to theatres in the first place. The actor plays the role of Ram, an upright IAS officer, who has overcome a temper problem in life. He locks horns with Bobbili (SJ Suryah), whose only aim in life is to become the Chief Minister of his state. A flashback, a double role- Shankar leaves nothing at all to make this as masaledaar a fare, as possible. The problem is: old wine in a new bottle, still remains old.
Ram Charan’s effortless dance and his exuberance makes the entire film tolerable. Gamechanger is a reminder of the funny villains and convenient plot points which were a staple in south films of the early 2000s. And we didn’t ask for a reminder. Everything is OTT here- when a minister is removed from his post, he or she flies off in the air. When the hero gets angry, pop comes a flash card ‘To reduce anger snap a rubber band’ . The film has no direction initially, and it’s only at the intermission point that things get interesting. Only for Shankar to make an excruciating second half. Mix Anil Kapoor’s ‘one day ka CM’ in Nayak with Rajinikanth’s ‘Sivaji- The Boss’, and you get Gamechanger. Not even exaggerating. There’s so much happening, some bits even repetitive, that it begins to get on your nerves,
Kiara Advani does complete justice to her role, which is all about looking pretty and dancing along with Ram. The music of the film is nothing to write home about, except maybe Jaragandi.
Overall, Gamechanger is a very average fare, led ably by Ram Charan.
