Story

The newly appointed district collector, Ram Nandan, sets out to eliminate criminals from his district. He confronts Mopidevi, a state cabinet minister and the son of the ruling party Chief Minister, Bobbili Sathyamurthy. After seeing Parvathy at a public event, Sathyamurthy suffers a heart attack, is hospitalized, and passes away. As Mopidevi prepares to become the new Chief Minister, a video recording of Sathyamurthy's final wish emerges. The story explores the connection between Appanna and Sathyamurthy, as well as the relationships between Ram Nandan, Appanna, and Parvathy. Watch Game Changer to know about the real story and what happens next.

Analysis

Shankar was once known for seamlessly blending socially relevant themes with emotional depth and grandeur in his films, until the blockbuster success of Robo. However, his subsequent works have failed to capture the same magic of the old master filmmaker. It is surprising to see a talented director like Karthik Subbaraj provide a clichéd storyline for Gamechanger, which Shankar executes in an equally worn-out format. The first half of the film is largely a rehash of Shankar's previous works, with familiar elements like the actions of the IAS officer, the dialogues, and the dance sequences. It is only during the pre-interval sequence and a flashback episode in the second half that glimpses of the old Shankar emerge. Ramcharan's memorable performance and his entertaining tug-of-war with S. J. Suryah in the second half make the film somewhat watchable, but Shankar's outdated and redundant execution overall disappoints the audience.

The director and writers rushed through the flashback scenes, instead focusing more on the confrontational moments to provide an entertaining experience. The cinematography for the "Jaragandi Jaragandi" song failed to do justice to the grand set, and the choreography by Prabhudeva was lackluster. The editing also worked against the film, as the climax sequence was overly prolonged, and the abruptly cut shots during the climax frustrated the audience.

Performance

Ramcharan delivered an excellent performance as 'Appanna'. The 20-minute flashback episode on Appanna's character was the heart of the film, and Ramcharan embodied the role perfectly. His various looks, style, charisma, and dances as Ram Nandan will be greatly appreciated by fans. SJ Suryah as Mopidevi was entertaining in the second half. His confrontation scenes with Ramcharan and some of his mannerisms were worthy of praise. Anjali as Parvathy gave an outstanding performance. Along with Appanna's character during the flashback, she fully immersed herself in her role and made the audience emotional.

Kiara Advani as Deepika, Ram Nandan's girlfriend, was written in an outdated way. Most of the scenes and dialogues involving her character felt artificial and outdated, despite her looking and dancing well with Ramcharan in the 'Dhop' song. Jayaram as Muni Manikyam and Sunil as Side Satyam generated some laughs, especially in the second half. Srikanth as Bobbili Sathyamurthy and Rajeev Kanakala as Mukunda had crucial roles, and both were adequate in their performances. Vennela Kishore's talents are squandered in small, unimportant parts.

Thaman's background score was impressive, as it elevated many ordinary scenes, especially in the first half, with its electrifying quality. His songs also worked well on screen, complementing the grand visuals. The songs 'Arugu Meedha', 'Konda Devara', and 'Dhop' were particularly noteworthy. The editing by Shameer Muhammed and Ruben could have been better, with some parts during the later part of the second half and a few cliche sequences in the first half needing more attention. The cinematography by Thirunavukarasu was good in the flashback portions, but the 'Jaragandi Jaragandi' song could have been better. The production values by 'Sri Venkateswara Values' were grand, with every penny spent by Dil Raju and his team visible on the screen, especially in the songs. The usually cautious Dil Raju seems to have given the director a free hand and provided all the necessary resources without any budget restrictions.

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