Director S. Shankar is gearing up for the much-anticipated release of his upcoming film Game Changer, starring Ram Charan and Kiara Advani in the lead roles. The movie is slated to hit theaters on January 10, 2025. However, leading up to this release, the filmmaker encountered a box-office disappointment with his previous project, Indian 2, a highly awaited sequel in Kollywood.
In a recent interview with Vikatan, the renowned filmmaker opened up about the challenges he faced following the release of Indian 2. He admitted that he had not anticipated the wave of negative reviews the film received. Shankar expressed that his focus is now on producing exceptional work with Game Changer and Indian 3, the third installment in the Indian series. Despite the criticism impacting the box office performance of Indian 2, he remains optimistic about his upcoming projects.
Indian 2, the action-packed thriller, released in July this year, featured Kamal Haasan returning to his iconic role as Senapathy from the 1996 original. He was joined by an ensemble cast that included Siddharth, SJ Suryah, Rakul Preet Singh, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Vivek, Bobby Simha, Nedumudi Venu, and Gulshan Grover, among others.
The director shared, “I aimed to convey a positive message, and in that sense, I am satisfied. The idea that ‘a clean home leads to a clean nation’ is both meaningful and essential. While its practical implementation may be challenging, the thought itself remains significant.”
He mentioned that the film made an impression on the public, citing an incident where a woman engineer from a corporation in Telangana was caught on video accepting bribes, exposed by her own husband. “They referred to it as the ‘Indian 2 effect.’ What we envisioned is happening, isn’t it? That makes me happy,” he remarked. He also recounted another incident where an auto driver’s son reported his father to the police after the latter snatched a gold chain from a female passenger.
Shankar has officially announced that Indian 3 will have an exclusive theatrical release, putting to rest rumors about a possible direct-to-OTT premiere sparked by the underperformance of the second installment.
Source: Cinema Express, Times of India
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