Reliance Entertainment and Y Not Studios’ Game Over (dubbed from the Telugu film of the same name; UA) is a thriller.
Strange things start happening to Sapna (Taapsee Pannu) after she gets a tattoo on her wrist. She is raped, the spot where the tattoo is made pains terribly at times, she is scared of the dark (because of her rape incident) etc. She lives in a huge bungalow with her maid, Kalamma (Vinodhini). She visits her psychiatrist (Anish Kuruvilla) who can’t do much to alleviate her pain and fear.
One day, she visits her tattoo artist who confesses that she had erroÂneously used ink mixed with a dead person’s ashes to make the tattoo on her (Sapna) wrist. She also explains that ashes of the dead are used to make what are called memorial tattÂoos on the bodies of the deceased’s near and dear ones so that the dead ‘remain’ with the near and dear ones.
Soon, it emerges that the girl, AmÂruta (Sanchana Natarajan), whose ashes had been mixed in the ink, had been raped by a masked man and mercilessly killed by the rapist, her head severed from her body, and her corpse burned. The dead girl’s mother (Ramya Subramanian) pays a visit to Sapna to sympathise with her condition.
One day, Sapna is so frustrated that she attempts suicide. But she survives the suicide attempt although she injures her legs so badly that she has to now move on a wheelchair. Then one day, Sapna dreams about a masked man killing Kalamma, severing her head and then coming after her. She wakes up in panic but her dream begins to come true when she sees three masked men in her bungalow. What happens thereafter?
Ashwin Saravanan and Kaavya Ramkumar have written a story which is intriguing and engaging. It is crisp and also exciting at places. But having said that, it must be added that the story doesn’t have many of the trapÂpings of a regular commercial entertainer. Furthermore, its appeal is even more restricted because it revolves around and is almost totally about a single person, Sapna. The duo’s screenplay is well-crafted but is, at the same time, unidimensional. There are several thrilling moments in the drama. The ending, though, somehow doesÂn’t completely thrill the viewers or leave them elated. Dialogues (by Shruti Madan) are alright.
Taapsee Pannu does a fantastic job as Sapna, carrying the entire film on her shoulders. Vinodhini is effective as Kalamma. Sanchana NatarajÂan leaves a mark as Amruta. Anish Kuruvilla lends decent support as the psychiatrist. Ramya Subramanian makes her presence felt in the role of Amruta’s mother. Others are adequÂate.
Ashwin Saravanan’s direction is good. But he could have made the film in a way that it would appeal to a larger section of the audience. In the form in which it is, it holds very limited appeal. Ron Ethan Yohann’s backÂground music is impactful. A. Vasanth’s cinematography is very nice. ‘Real’ Satish’s stunts and action scenes are exciting as well as thrilling. Shiva Shankar’s art direction is good. Richard Kevin A.’s editing is sharp. Dubbing is very good.
On the whole, Game Over is a well-made film but with very limited commercial appeal. The film would have worked even despite its limited appeal, had it been very well-promoted. But the promotion is so low-key that the awareness about the film and its release is minimal.
Released on 14-6-’19 at Inox (daily 2 shows) and other cinemas of BomÂbay thru PVR Pictures Ltd. Publicity: below the mark. Opening: dull. …….Also released all over. Opening was weak almost everywhere.