Game Changer

I am a fan of the director and even I couldn't bear the poorly made movie. Looks like they sat together the night before the shooting started and put together a story and script in a rush. No comedy and music was also not something we get in a Shankar movie. It also felt like watching a few of Shankar's old movies like Mudhalvan, Indian and Anniyan. Ram Charan is the only saving grace. It's a shocker that they wasted Sunil. The volume was too loud and jarring and that part I am unsure if it was specific to my theater or the recording itself but was such. Also the scenes felt so disconnected. First movie where I didn't have a single laugh or didn't get emotional in any scene.

The story is decent, but the narration drags and feels messy. Some scenes hit the mark, some miss, and most are just "meh".

Ramcharan pulls off his two roles well, but his performance doesn't blow you away. His beardless look? Let's just say it's not his best. Anjali shines in her limited role, while Kiara adds glamour but not much else. SJ Suryah steals the show as the villain but it feels very monotonous and the rest of the cast does their job.

The production is lavish-maybe too lavish, like they burned cash just for songs and fights to look grand. Music is nice, and the cinematography is impressive. Shankar's direction is okay, but it's not his prime-level magic.

Overall? It's not worth watching.

One thing's clear, this isn't a torture like Indian 2, but also nowhere near the standards Shankar has set It's just like a passable routine Telugu commercial movie

Ram Charan shines as Appanna, that's the lifeline of the movie, otherwise, it's an average outing for him. SJ Suryah tries hard, but writing doesn't offer him much. Why Kiara? Anjali, just okay, rest of all, nothing.

Technically, Thaman is the only one who breathes life into the proceedings, but Villain and "UNPREDICTABLE" BGM were terribly overused. Songs were average, but surprisingly, even the picturisation was the same, much hyped "JARAGANDI" was a farce.

Camera work by Thiru was subpar TBH, never thought I'd say that in a Shankar movie, literally mocobot everywhere. Editing by Ruben and Shameer was fine.

Coming to Shankar, man, it's frustrating and gut-wrenching to see his standards going down, he redefined the commercial genre, but here, despite political thriller being his strong suite, the writing and direction, both were below average.

BOTTOMLINE : Comeback Shankar wait continues.......

While this isn't as terrible as Indian 2 overall, the entirety of the first hour is some of the worst bits of filmmaking I have seen from the once-iconic director. The comedy sucks (Sunil and Vennela Kishore characters desperately need the "DELETE" button), the intro fight & song combo is horrendous, the romance between Charan and Kiara's characters is so poorly written, and SJ Suryah does eccentric SJ Suryah for the millionth time. Yeah, I should stop looking at this as a Tamil film, because it clearly isn't aiming to be one.

Almost every song is a bathroom break, though I like some of the beats in Dhop (along with its vibrant picturization). It was difficult to connect with the protagonist - an IAS officer + IPS officer + Election Officer + Angry Dude in College + whatever the hell the writing needs him to be. We connected with Shankar's protagonists in some of his earlier films because most of them weren't default superheroes. Very often, the circumstance creates one, and that formula worked for him for nearly 2 decades. But gone are those days. I'm not sure what ideas Karthik Subbaraj fed Shankar in the initial stages-ultimately, Shankar chose to give it the same screenplay treatment as Mudhalvan, Sivaji, and the likes.. in 2025. Plus, the only time I bought the performer in Ram Charan was during the short flashback portion, and even that's less impactful.

Kiara Advani is drop-dead gorgeous, though she's mostly relegated to being a song-and-dance prop in the film. Anjali gets a meatier presence than expected, and is fine in the flashback (..not the present). Jayaram is disposable, and Srikanth plays the guy Samuthirakani or Sachin Khedekar usually takes up. My biggest gripe, however, is with the action sequences. I don't remember Shankar directing action this terribly, like EVER. Peter Hein and Anbariv are involved, but to what avail? Every set piece is wholly forgettable. The "Hari-fication" of Shankar is well and truly underway, as far as the pacing is concerned. I don't have any faith in his upcoming projects. God save the Velpari adaptation.

A director coasting on former glory meets an actor coasting on PR hype and you get GameChanger. Basically there is a faint whiff of a story which is presented as a series of meaningless but rich visuals . The songs that cost 1/4 the budget are so ill placed .There is a female lead whose purpose is unknown .So many elements which are serial level cringe - like how and why and where the heroes mother ends up . This marks the end of Shankar. Ramcharan escaped scrutiny over his ultra disaster acharya that came after rrrr but there is no escaping the rightful ridicule that comes his way for this self proclaimed global star ! AVOID in OTT also.