New Delhi: Telugu star Ram Charan’s much-anticipated film, Game Changer, has a North Indian twist. The teaser for the movie, which is slated to hit the big screen on 10 January 2025, will be released in Lucknow on 9 November.
This is arguably the first time any film from a Southern state is releasing its teaser or trailer in a North Indian city. The makers of the film also shared a tweet earlier in the day, announcing the event in the ‘heartland’ of India.
“Usually, South Indian films do these launches or big events in Chennai or Hyderabad, and might have one small one in Mumbai. Now these movies have a lot of audiences in UP, Bihar and Punjab as well,” film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh told ThePrint.
Ready, Set… Command 😎
Get ready for #GameChanger ‘s charge in Lucknow ❤️🔥🧨#GameChangerTeaser launch event on 9th NOVEMBER in Lucknow, UP.#GameChanger takes charge in theatres on JAN 10th ❤️🔥
Global Star @AlwaysRamCharan @shankarshanmugh @advani_kiara @iam_SJSuryah… pic.twitter.com/gq9LXHCs1y
— Sri Venkateswara Creations (@SVC_official) November 5, 2024
The Lucknow teaser event is a reflection of the growing popularity of South Indian movies across the country. In just the last few years, actors from industries in the South, such as Dulquer Salmaan, Nayanthara, Vijay Deverakonda, Sai Pallavi, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Ram Charan, have acquired a legion of fans in North India.
The entire team of Game Changer will be present in Lucknow for the teaser launch.
“Except SS Rajamouli, no one does such aggressive marketing in multiple cities beyond the South. This is a good marketing strategy by the makers of Game Changer to tap into bigger audiences,” said Adarsh.
Major milestones
Game Changer’s January release is timed for Sankranthi, which usually sees big releases in the Telugu film industry. It also happens to Bollywood actor Kiara Advani and Tamil filmmaker S Shankar’s Tollywood debut. Shankar is the director of Indian 2, a Tamil language film starring Kamal Haasan that was released earlier this year.
The music for the film is helmed by singer and composer Thaman S, known for hits like Varisu (2023) and Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020). Thaman won the National Film Award (Best Music Direction) for his soundtrack in Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo.
Two songs from Game Changer, Jaragandi and Raa Macha Macha, have already been released.
Originally slated to be released on Christmas day this year, the film revolves around an IAS officer (Ram Charan) who combats corrupt politicians and advocates for fair elections
Ram Charan made his Bollywood debut opposite Priyanka Chopra in the remake of the classic film Zanjeer in 2013. However, he couldn’t make much headway because the film proved to be a massive commercial failure. His next Bollywood project was a special appearance in the Salman Khan-starrer Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (2023). But by then, he had established himself not just in India but abroad with several hits including SS Rajamouli’s RRR (2022).
Incidentally, Charan’s co-star in RRR, NT Rama Rao Jr (popularly known as Jr NTR), had also released the trailer of his film Devara: Part 1 in Mumbai instead of Hyderabad, the preferred location for Telugu movie and trailer launches.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)