'Debacle of superstar movie must be looked into seriously’: Anjali on biggest flop of her career

Hyderabad: Actor Anjali has spoken out about the box office failure of Game Changer, a film in which she starred alongside Ram Charan and Kiara Advani. Her comments came during a press conference held in connection with the Telugu release of the blockbuster Tamil film Madha Gaja Raja.

Anjali explained the emotional impact of a film's failure, especially when the cast has given their best performance. "As an actor, I alone am responsible for how well I portray my character. When we promote a film, we hope for its success at the box office. But beyond that, discussing why Game Changer failed requires more time. Everyone knows why I'm saying this," she said.

She pointed out that piracy played a significant role in the film's downfall, highlighting that the HD print of the movie was leaked online just hours after its release.

Anjali continued, “There are some films where we personally believe in the project and give our absolute best. I gave 200% to Game Changer. I’m happy to report that not a single viewer came up to me and said the film was bad. Everyone referred to it as a good film. They praised my performance, so the backlash the film is receiving is deeply painful for me.”

She reiterated that analysing what went wrong with the film would require more time. Despite being a massive production with all the elements of a blockbuster, Game Changer has already become one of the biggest box office flops of 2025. Released on January 10, the film, directed by Shankar and starring Ram Charan and Kiara Advani, had high expectations but failed to meet them.

Game Changer was produced with a budget between ₹400 crore and ₹500 crore, but it reportedly collected only around ₹125 crore by the end of its theatrical run, incurring a loss of over ₹300 crore. This extended the horrid run for director Shankar following the debacle of Indian 2 last year. The film offered no respite for its lead actor, Ram Charan, who has been struggling to find his rhythm after the mammoth success of Rajamouli’s RRR in 2022. In Koratala Siva’s Acharya, in which Ram Charan starred alongside his father, Mega Star Chiranjeevi, the film also failed miserably at the box office, raising eyebrows!

Now, Anjali's comments shed light on the challenges faced by actors and filmmakers when a film, despite the hard work put in, fails to resonate with audiences or is affected by external factors like piracy. (With inputs from Agencies)