Director Shankar, who was once hailed as a visionary director, is now in the face of incessant criticism after two successive box office disappointments with Indian 2 and Game Changer. In the perpetually uncertain realm of cinema, flops and hits are an occupational hazard. Yet, the outrage against Shankar is not about the success or failure of these films — it is about his planning and execution, which have come under sharp questioning.
Shankar Takes Flak for Inadequate Planning
The root of the criticism is not the content but how Shankar approaches filmmaking. Most people feel his recent setbacks are a consequence of poor planning and mismanagement, particularly with Game Changer. The underwhelming reception of the movie might have been glossed over, but the expose of huge budget wastage and deletion of scenes after investing crores of rupees has people and industry folks wondering about his process.
Deleted Scenes: An Expensive Blunder
The uproar was fuelled further by the revelation, made by renowned comedian Brahmanandam amidst the promotion for Brahma Anandam, that he was on location filming scenes for Game Changer for a few days only to have them end up on the chopping block. Priyadarshi, an actor, also aired a similar concern, reporting having spent 25 days in shoots but being part of only a single shot of the final edition.
It is said that the amount of footage shot and rejected is enough to run an entire film. The economic implications of these choices are huge, with the wastage being estimated at more than ₹100 crores on unused footage. This unplanned approach has had everyone wondering why these creative choices were not done during pre-production and not after costly shoots.
Over-Budget Productions and Financial Strain
The fallout of Shankar’s blunders is not only artistic but also economic. Indian 2 originally had a budget of approximately ₹250 crores, and Game Changer was sanctioned at ₹300 crores. But with the large-scale reshoots and excess footage that did not see the light of day, the actual expenditure swelled out of proportion.
For any movie, keeping within budgets is paramount for profitability, particularly with big-star productions. Even if a movie does not succeed in box office collections, careful budgeting allows producers to break even on other fronts such as satellite and digital rights. Shankar’s overly ambitious method and failure to control the ballooning of production expenses have put his producers in a financial crisis situation, making the failures all the more crippling.
Producers Back Off: What’s Next for Shankar?
Two flops in a row and a reputation for running over budget, producers are now cautious about working with Shankar. The director, who once had humongous budgets and starry casts at his command, now is finding it hard to find backers for new projects.
The question of whether Shankar can learn from these failures is big. The business is optimistic that he would go back to his origins of careful storytelling and visionary cinema, but it will take a radical change in his methodology. Pre-production needs to be prioritized, so that each scene filmed is meaningful and budgets are honored.
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Can Shankar Redeem Himself?
Shankar’s passion for film and talent are unquestionable. His earlier successes have left an enduring imprint on Indian filmmaking, and his capacity to dream has motivated a generation of filmmakers. Still, the way ahead requires change. The producers and the audience will be watching with great interest to know if he can recover, coming up with a film that not only appeals to the audience but also financially sustains.
Only time will tell whether Shankar will be able to rise from the ashes and take his seat once more as a master storyteller. For now, there is continuing backlash, but hope exists that the man who revolutionized Indian cinema before can do it again.
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