'Game Changer' editor says working with Shankar was 'terrible'
What's the story
Ram Charan and Kiara Advani's Game Changer finally released in theaters in January 2025 after a series of delays.
However, it failed to work at the box office and received underwhelming reviews.
Now, during an interview with Kaumudy Movies, editor Shameer Muhammed has opened up about his experience working with director S. Shankar.
He revealed he didn't finish editing for Game Changer owing to the director's unorthodox working style.
Here's what he said.
Experience
Shankar made the editor wait for 10 days
Muhammed revealed, "It was a terrible experience working with Shankar. I went there with great excitement, but things were happening in some other world there."
"He would fix one date for editing, but he would turn up only after 10 days."
"The same pattern continued for several days, and I ended up staying in Chennai for 300-350 days. Then I left the film."
"It would have been a terrible mistake if I had left ARM and Marco for Game Changer."
Editing process
Muhammed's departure and the film's final edit
Muhammed said, "I spent a year with that film. I was involved for an extended period. It was in the last six months that I was told I would have to stay with them for another month."
"When I was editing, the film was 7-7.5 hours long. I made it three and a half hours. After that, a new editor came and shortened it to 2.5-3 hours."
Ruben edited the film after Muhammed's exit.
Box-office performance
'Game Changer' was Shankar's 2nd consecutive box-office failure
Game Changer was Shankar's Telugu debut and was produced by Dil Raju under Sri Venkateswara Creations.
The film, which also starred Anjali, S. J. Suryah, Srikanth, Sunil, Jayaram, and Samuthirakani in pivotal roles, was met with less than positive reviews from critics and fans alike.
It became Shankar's second consecutive box-office debacle after Indian 2, earning just ₹150 crore globally, as per Pinkvilla.