Shankar, who is bringing us his Telugu film Game Changer featuring Ram Charan in the lead, has been busy promoting his film across the states. In one such interview, Shankar expressed how he was hurt and shocked by filmmaker Anurag Kashyap’s comments on his film’s editing style, as he stated that his songs look like Instagram reels.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Anurag stated, “I was reading this statement by Shankar sir saying, ‘Today’s audience’s (attention) span has become very short. They watch Reels. So, we have kept that in mind while doing Game Changer.’ Now I don’t know what that means! We’ll only know when we see the film.”
“A lot of filmmakers are talking in this language like, ‘My film is just like Reels put together because that’s what the audience wants to watch.’ Filmmakers who, at one time for me, were like chefs to me, creating things, are becoming caterers. The moment one starts thinking in terms of what an audience wants to watch, that is where the decline begins. The audience is not an organism; it is a massive sea of people. For everything, there is an audience,” Anurag had added.
Shankar has now clarified his statement while speaking to one of the reporters in Chennai, “I didn’t say anything about Instagram Reels. We should convey things quickly and effectively. When we fail to do so, we allow the audience space to get distracted. The film should be engaging throughout. Editor Reuben has achieved that in Game Changer. That’s what I wanted to convey. I didn’t know (Anurag) had said this, and it’s shocking. Because it came from a genuine place.”
Shankar has always made films that were of new concepts or used new kinds of technology in his films that made them different from others; he emphasized the importance of keeping the audiences engaged, especially with the increasingly short span of the audiences.
He stated, “The current generation of audiences is impatient; within 10 minutes, they will take out their phones and start commenting about the film on social media. They get distracted within 10 minutes. So the film’s editing needs to be engaging. When you see Game Changer, you will realize it is a fast-paced film that doesn’t allow you to look here and there. Ruben has done beautiful editing in the film,” he added.
Shankar’s Game Changer starring Ram Charan, SJ Suriya, Kiara Advani, and Sunil will be released in cinemas on January 10.