‘Content is king, grand visuals are secondary’

“Game Changer is a straight Telugu film dubbed in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi. Chiranjeevi Sir watched it and loved it. He’s very confident about its reception,” Shankar begins.

On how Ram Charan came on board

It just happens! Many heroes and producers listen to scripts, and numerous rounds of discussions take place. But factors like actors’ availability and producers’ willingness matter. With Ram Charan and producer Dil Raju, everything fell into place perfectly.

Ram Charan’s hidden power

When you look at him, it seems like he’s controlling the power inside, which can explode when required. Even though he’s never loud and performs subtly, there’s a powerful current inside him. When scenes command huge emotions, he delivers an in-depth portrayal.

Beyond Corruption: A fresh perspective

Though my films are often associated with tackling corruption, Game Changer explores a different dimension – from an administrative officer’s standpoint

Was it inspired by the late Chief Election Commissioner TN Seshan

It’s Karthik Subbaraj’s story. During development, it took different shapes. It may resemble several administrative officers, but we weren’t aiming at anyone specific.

The Kiara Advani factor

Everyone knows she’s beautiful, but her performance was real, never plastic. There’s liveliness in the close-up shots. Despite not being familiar with the language, she came prepared and delivered precisely what was required. She excelled in dancing too, matching Ram Charan. When they dance together, you won’t want to take your eyes off them.

On criticism…

You have to accept it [criticism]! Everyone has the right to criticize and no one is above that. One has to face the challenge and move on.

At the end of the day, content is King. Grand visuals are secondary. The story should command magnificence. From my days as an assistant director, one thing has remained constant: whether it’s a masala entertainer, a realistic film, or a devotional film, if it’s well-made and offers great cinematic experience, it will succeed.

The adaptation challenge

Though I did Nanban (remake of 3 Idiots), this is the first time I am adapting a script by another filmmaker [Karthik Subbaraj]. After the pandemic, the film industry was fluid and clueless. I was stuck with Indian 2 and Indian 3 then, and also busy with the script of my dream project Velpari.

I had two other ideas. One required a new face but a big budget because of its heavy VFX reliance. The other one was a spy thriller, which needed to be shot completely in a foreign location. So, I opted for Karthik Subbaraj’s story. The challenge was balancing Karthik’s expectations while maintaining my style. I hope I’ve achieved that.