Set in the middle of a drawn-out battle for the Andhara Pradesh chief minister’s post, Game Changer begins with a complex sequence of accidents, including a road collapsing due to corruption, a dying man seeing visions of a woman and child, heavy rain, extravagant theatrics and general chaos. It’s fast, it comes fast and it’s a pretty clear promise of what’s to come. And really, the film delivers.
Before the opening sequence has had a chance to end, and for the viewer to realise what’s happening, the bold hero Ram Nandan, a police officer who beats up bald, cartoonish bad guys, is introduced. I use the term “bold” because that’s how outdated and tired the stereotype is at this point. One of the idiots being beaten up is decked out in jewellery and, when asked if he wants a chain, replies: “I’m a YouTube star.” Ram responds by saying “I’ll show you some shorts,” and continues to beat him up, with no specific YouTube-related methodology introduced into the beating. It’s dated, but it’s trying to keep up.
Director: S. ShankarWriters: Ranjeet Bahadur, Sai Madhav Burra, Rajendra SapreStars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Sankalpa Banerjee
Like an old killer uncle, but hilarious.
Movies like Game Changer aren’t meant for criticism, nor are they meant for a discerning moviegoing audience. Movies like this, where tropes, both harmful and lazy, are used for the lack of character development and script, are designed to appeal to the sheep mentality among us. To the space we like to go to sometimes where “brain rot” seems interesting, to those who like to pick political leaders based on how popular they are. It’s evident in sold-out screenings where audiences start screaming and yelling from the first frame, and it keeps the enthusiasm up at least halfway.
And look, I get it, I spent 30 minutes yesterday watching a girl eat different kinds of ice on her Instagram. I don’t want to use my analytical brain all the time. But the fact that for comic relief, this Karthik Subbaraj story includes hours of jokes about a guy called “Side Satyam,” who came out of his mother’s body sideways and only walks sideways because of that, is such a heavy-handed attempt to engage our fatigued minds, it’s almost impressive.
Though it doesn’t really.
Game Changer doesn’t lie about what it is: if the hero is a cop, it means social justice will be done in exclusively flamboyant ways. You snap a finger and a corrupt officer literally flies away? Sure, I’ll take that. I’ll even allow a sequence about a mall that doesn’t comply with proper fire code, which is about to be demolished in 30 seconds, login for jobs aur dukaanein jaayein bhaad mein, sure. The movie is loud, dumb and stupid. However, excessive hammering should ideally be part of the larger commentary, especially if you claim it is a political thriller, don’t you think?
30 minutes into the film, when every unprovoked dance sequence and number starts to feel like the beginning, middle or end of the film – who knows and who cares – your brain finally accepts defeat and is beaten into submission. I’m not exaggerating, my Apply watch warned me about the loud environment, kudos to sound designer T Uday Kumar for making even inanimate objects wake up and recognise. I just feel bad for the little kid some wise parents decided to bring along to this roaring, deafening experience we all choose to be a part of.
Game Changer features an angry man – because what mainstream Indian film doesn’t anymore? – but it is woke enough to teach you how to control anger, so that we don’t blame it for corrupting our soft, squishy minds. This is achieved through an incredible song-and-dance number. Let me paint you a picture.
Ram has a new love interest, Deepika, played by Kiara Advani, who is once again a babe lost in the woods without her man. Deepika doesn't like it when Ram gets angry one afternoon when he's stopped by the traffic police for jumping the light and notices that the "no left turn" sign was broken. Instead of unleashing his inner Hulk, he decides to do some Bharatnatyam, a combination of street gymnastics, obviously. Helpful text appears throughout the sequence telling you what to do when you get angry: "Dance, reduce the spiciness of your food and hurt yourself with a rubber band on your wrist, although that last might make me angrier."
Dadi mein ke nuskho se bhara yeh gaana should give you a pretty good idea of how intelligent this film intends its audience to be. Aur abhi toh mainey politics ki baatein shuru kari hi nahi hain.
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