Development The
production of Indian 2 faced significant delays following an on-set accident, compounded by the
nationwide COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India, which created uncertainty about the film's resumption. During this time, director
S. Shankar shifted his focus to other projects and began developing a script for a potential multi-starrer film intended for a multi-language release, with
Yash considered for one of the leading roles. Shankar eventually collaborated with
Dil Raju's
Sri Venkateswara Creations, which had initially planned to produce
Indian 2 before stepping away, with
Lyca Productions taking over. On 12 February 2021, the production house officially announced the project, with
Ram Charan confirmed as the lead. The film was
tentatively titled RC15 and
SVC50, referencing Charan's 15th film as an actor and the production company's 50th project. Although initial reports suggested it would be a historical action film, it was later clarified to be a political action drama. The official title,
Game Changer, was unveiled on 27 March 2023, coinciding with Charan's birthday. In December 2024, it was reported that the film was produced on a budget of ₹300–400
crore. Ram Charan was paid ₹65 crore for his role, while Shankar adopted a
revenue-sharing model, taking a smaller advance and opting to receive a substantial share of the film's profits as remuneration to support its production.
Pre-production Game Changer was initially developed as an interim project during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, along with the adaptation of
Veera Yuga Nayagan Velpari (2019), based on the ruler of Parambu nādu
Vēl Pāri, by author-politician
S. Venkatesan, a
spy thriller which demanded shooting in foreign locales and
science fiction action film that needed a fresh face in the leading role and extensive
visual effects. Due to the restrictions of film production in that period, he wanted something different that would be produced on a restricted budget and felt that the process of adapting another director's story that excited him. He listened to the narration of numerous directors and finalized on the original story written by
Karthik Subbaraj. Shankar also expressed his interest on doing a Telugu film, attributed to the success of the Telugu-dubbed versions of his films. while lyricist
Vivek and
Farhad Samji did the same for its Tamil and Hindi versions. Vivek and S. Venkatesan also contributed to the screenplay with Shankar. Initially,
Anirudh Ravichander and Shankar's norm composer
A. R. Rahman, were reported to score the music for the film, but on
Dil Raju's request,
Thaman S was chosen to compose the film's music, in his first collaboration with the director.
Tirru was signed on as the cinematographer, also in his first time association with the director. Editor
Shameer Muhammed, action choreography duo
Anbariv and production designer Avinash Kolla were recruited as a part of the technical crew. Dance choreographers of the film include
Prabhu Deva,
Jani Master,
Prem Rakshith,
Bosco Martis,
Ganesh Acharya, and Sandy. Shankar complimented that Charan had a "suppressed explosive energy" within, further adding "His performance reflects this; even when he subtly conveys something, you feel a power surging, ready to explode. He knows where to keep it low-key and how to unleash this energy when the scenes require it from him." Afterwards,
Rashmika Mandanna was considered to play the female lead, before
Kiara Advani was finalized for that role in July 2021;
Anjali was cast in a pivotal role, while
Sunil,
Srikanth,
Jayaram, and
Naveen Chandra were all confirmed to be a part of the film during their presence at the puja ceremony.
S. J. Suryah was confirmed to be part of the film in September 2022, playing the antagonist.
Filming The film was formally launched with a
muhurat shot on 8 September 2021 at
Annapurna Studios in
Hyderabad with a traditional
pooja ceremony attended by
Ranveer Singh,
Chiranjeevi, and
S. S. Rajamouli.
Principal photography began on 22 October 2021 and the first schedule was completed in the first week of November. Filming took place in
Maharashtra at
Pune,
Satara and
Phaltan. Later that month, the second schedule began with a song shoot that was held for 10 days, at a specially erected set in
Ramoji Film City.
The Times of India reported that nearly was spent on the song. During the schedule, the team also shot a 7-minute action sequence.
Anbariv and others were hired to design these action sequences in the film. The third schedule for the film commenced in February 2022. Planned for about 20 days, the shoot took place in
Andhra Pradesh at
Rajahmundry,
Kakinada,
Kovvur and other nearby places of
West Godavari and
East Godavari districts. Later the same month, it was reported that filming for
Indian 2, also directed by Shankar, which the production was halted for two and a half years, would take place after wrapping up the film shoot. Charan took a break from filming to take part in the success celebrations of
RRR and returned to filming in April. For undisclosed reasons,
R. Rathnavelu joined the unit in Amritsar to complete the remaining portions in place of Tirru. In May, the crew shot a schedule in
Visakhapatnam. By July 2022, 60% of the filming was completed with Shankar intending to wrap up filming by December. In August, Shankar confirmed that he would be shooting both
Game Changer and
Indian 2, simultaneously. The filming was planned to resume in early September in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. A few pictures of scenes from the set were leaked online during the filming at the university. In March 2023, a song involving 100 dancers, choreographed by
Prabhu Deva, was shot. In April 2023, Shankar revealed that he would be shooting the climactic scenes soon. On 26 April 2023, filming of the climactic scenes started under the supervision of Anbariv, in a special set in
Shamshabad. Charan shot high combat scenes with 1200 fighters for the same. On 9 May, filming of the climax was wrapped. In July, an action sequence choreographed by
Anbariv was wrapped in Hyderabad.
Mysore schedule was started on 23 November, and was wrapped early December. In late December, a short schedule in Hyderabad, featuring Srikanth, Samuthirakani, S. J. Suryah, and others was wrapped up. The final schedule was completed in July 2024. In December 2024, it was reported that the filming lasted for 240 days, in which Ram Charan's portion were reportedly shot for 192 days.
Post-production In an interview, editor
Shameer Muhammed told that the film was initially 7 to 7.5 hours long, which he trimmed down to 3.5 hours before another editor joined the project and shortened it even further. He also shared that his experience working with Shankar was "terrible". == Marketing ==