Game changer

Story:

“Game Changer” is an upcoming Indian Telugu-language political action thriller movie directed by S. Shankar in his debut as a Telugu director. It is written by Karthik Subbaraj and produced by Dil Raju and Sirish under the Sri Venkateswara Creations banner. The film features Ram Charan in the lead role, leading a talented ensemble cast including Kiara Advani, Anjali, S. J. Suryah, Jayaram, Sunil, Srikanth, Samuthirakani, and Nassar.

Announcement

The project was initially announced in February 2021 with the working title RC15 and commenced production in October 2021. Filming took place in various locations, including Hyderabad, New Zealand, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Visakhapatnam, and Punjab. The official title of the film was revealed on March 27, 2023, coinciding with Charan’s birthday. Thaman S composed the film’s score and soundtrack, and Tirru served as the cinematographer.

Filming

The film was officially initiated on September 8, 2021, at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad, marked by a traditional pooja ceremony attended by Ranveer Singh, Chiranjeevi, and S. S. Rajamouli, where they also took the muhurat shot.

Principal photography commenced on October 22, 2021, and the first phase concluded in early November, with shooting locations in Maharashtra, including Pune, Satara, and Phaltan. In the same month, a song sequence was filmed over a period of 10 days at a specially constructed set in Ramoji Film City, featuring international dancers and choreography by Jani Master. The production cost for this song was reported to be approximately ₹23 crore (US$2.9 million). During this phase, the team also shot a 7-minute action sequence, with a reported budget of ₹70 crore (US$8.8 million), for which Anbariv and others were brought in to design the action sequences.

The third filming schedule began in February 2022, spanning approximately 20 days and covering various locations in Andhra Pradesh, including Rajahmundry, Kakinada, Kovvur, and neighboring areas in West Godavari and East Godavari districts. In the same month, it was announced that filming for “Indian 2,” also directed by Shankar and put on hold for two and a half years, would resume after completing this film’s shoot. Ram Charan briefly paused filming to participate in the success celebrations of the movie “RRR” and resumed shooting in April. In April, Charan and Kiara Advani filmed college scenes during a 20-day schedule in Amritsar. For undisclosed reasons, R. Rathnavelu joined the unit in Amritsar to complete the remaining portions, replacing Tirru. In May, the crew filmed a schedule in Visakhapatnam.

By July 2022, approximately 60% of the filming had been completed, with the director aiming to wrap up by December. In the same month, a large-scale song involving around 1000 dancers was shot in Punjab and Hyderabad, followed by plans for an action sequence featuring 1200 fighters. In August, Shankar confirmed that he would simultaneously shoot for both “Game Changer” and “Indian 2.” Filming for this movie was set to resume in early September in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. In November 2022, a 10-day schedule took place in New Zealand, where an expensive song was filmed in multiple exotic locations.

In February 2023, filming resumed with a few scenes shot at the Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management in Visakhapatnam, followed by scenes in Simhachalam and Charminar. Some pictures containing scenes from the set were leaked online during the university filming. In March 2023, a song featuring 100 dancers, choreographed by Prabhu Deva, was recorded. In April 2023, Shankar announced plans to shoot the climax scenes soon. On April 26, 2023, filming for the film’s climax scenes commenced under the supervision of the duo Anbariv, on a special set in Shamshabad, Hyderabad. Ram Charan filmed intense combat scenes with 1200 fighters during this period. On May 9, the filming of the climax scene was wrapped up.’

Release

In January 2022, Dil Raju announced his plan to launch the movie in January 2023, aligning it with Sankranthi. Nevertheless, it appears that the movie’s release has been postponed to the latter part of 2023. This change is attributed to the need to make room for Raju’s Tamil-language project, Varisu, as well as due to some production delays. The movie will eventually hit screens in Telugu and will also have dubbed versions available in Tamil and Hindi.