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HomeOpinionGame Over: This Taapsee Pannu-starrer brings our real fears to the forefront

Game Over: This Taapsee Pannu-starrer brings our real fears to the forefront

The opening scene is a strong punch to the gut, and leaves you shaken, scared and hooked.

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What would you do if you had a chance to experience your worst nightmare? Would you fight? If so, how? These are the questions that play in your mind as you watch Taapsee Pannu-starrer Game Over. A Tamil-Telugu bilingual, and dubbed in Hindi, Ashwin Saravanan’s film is a brilliant example of how thrillers should be made.

The story seems short and simple, but has many layers to it, which only become visible when you are halfway through the running time.

Taapsee Pannu plays Sapna, a video game designer, who lives in Gurgaon with her housekeeper and caretaker Kalamma. She deals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – she was assaulted and raped on New Year’s Eve the previous year. Sapna has anxiety issues, which prevent her from going over to other people’s homes. She lives in a house with multiple CCTV cameras, a watchman, and a hi-tech lock system on the door. She struggles with darkness and small spaces, and is constantly haunted by the after-effects of what happened, despite regular visits to the therapist. But an attempt to rid herself of these anxieties lands her in a nightmare from hell.

The movie can be divided into two parts – before and after the interval, and it seems that this was done deliberately. The first half builds the tension and suspense, and does it wonderfully well. In fact, the opening scene is a strong punch to the gut, and leaves you shaken, scared and hooked. The cinematography is done with a careful hand; shots that may seem irrelevant in the beginning come back to haunt you later. The second half is when the thrill part of the thriller really starts and, for a minute, you wonder what was the point of the first part. But as the story (or rather the game) progresses, you start connecting the dots through the subtle throwbacks to the first half – and the significance of Sapna’s story dawns on you.

As with every good thriller or horror movie, the real hero in this film too is the music (composed by Ron Ethan Yohann). It amplifies the suspense and drama and at times even breaks you.

The movie stands out for its mature treatment of mental health and trauma. The effects of PTSD are very severe, and the film shows a palatable version of it. But Sapna’s constant panic attacks, her depression, anxiety and suicidal tendencies are shown with the right amount of sensitivity.

Taapsee Pannu plays her part effortlessly, showing the horror, the shame, the guilt and, most importantly, the anger of a woman who has survived a sexual attack and is fighting an everyday battle with a patriarchal society.

There is not much else that can be deconstructed without giving away spoilers. The film delivers on the most important premise for any thriller – bringing our real fears to the forefront.

My only grudge: the film should have carried multiple trigger warnings as it deals with sensitive subjects in a rather raw manner.


Also read: Badla is a thrilling whodunnit delivered effortlessly by Taapsee Pannu & Amitabh Bachchan


 

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