Dulquer Salmaan tells Tamil actor Kathir: You are a born talent and I'm a fan!

Chennai, Sep 2 (AHN) Pan Indian star Dulquer Salmaan, who plays the lead in director Nahas Hidhayath's eagerly awaited action entertainer 'I'm Game', has called his co-actor in the film, Kathir, a born talent, and disclosed that he himself was a fan of the actor.

Participating in the pre-release event of 'I'm Game' in Chennai, Dulquer Salmaan said, "Kathir bro, I'm such a fan. What do you say, a born talent you are!."

He turned to the audience and said, "Every time he (Kathir) performs, I find it so subtle and so intense. It doesn't look like he puts any effort. It looks so effortless."

Kathir, who plays a cricketer in the film, had earlier lamented that he hadn't played proper cricket ever before and that the director had showed immense courage by trusting him to play the captain of a cricket team in the film.

Recalling his statement, Dulquer said, "You might think your cricket is not good, but you're phenomenal in the film. You're absolutely convincing as our captain."

For the unaware, Kathir, during the course of his speech at the event, had, in a lighter vein remarked that he was retiring from cricket after this film.

When the anchor asked why he was saying so and why his co-actors, who were seated in the audience were laughing, Kathir explained with a laugh,"This is like a legacy. I cannot play any better than what I have in this film."

He further explained with a smile,"After director Nahas had narrated this script to me, I thought to myself, 'Goodness gracious!'. I told Nahas, 'I would have played cricket a maximum of four times in my entire life and that too, whatever cricket I played was in school. Even more significantly, it was pad cricket.'"

Kathir disclosed that he had asked Nahas if he was okay making someone like him play a cricket team captain in the film. Kathir laughingly added, "A director can have courage and take risks but not to this extent."

Meanwhile, the censor board has cleared the film for release with a UA 16+ certificate.

Wayfarer Films, the production house producing the film, took to its social media timelines to share the update.

It wrote, "No more waiting around—the dice have rolled! I'M GAME has bagged its U/A 16+ certificate and is officially theater-bound. Bookings open at 5 PM."

For the unaware, the film was originally scheduled to hit screens worldwide on August 20 this year. However, the makers chose to postpone the film's release to September 3.

In a statement announcing the postponement of the film's release date, Dulquer Salmaan had acknowledged the anticipation around the film and stated that the decision to opt for a new release date came with a larger vision for the film.

He had said, "The game gets bigger. The release gets wider. We understand the anticipation and we apologize for the delay, but #imgame will now release worldwide on 3rd September, moving from its earlier release date of 20th August."

The actor went on to say, "The new release date comes with a larger vision for the film as #imgame gears up for a wider theatrical release across markets. The film will now simultaneously release in multiple languages-Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Kannada taking the experience to audiences across the country and beyond."

He had ended the statement saying, "This decision has been made to give #imgame the scale, reach, and theatrical platform it truly deserves, allowing audiences across different markets to experience it on the big screen. The wait gets a little longer, But the game gets bigger!"

Directed by Nahas Hidhayath, 'I'm Game' has been mounted on an ambitious scale and will mark Dulquer Salmaan’s return to Malayalam cinema. The film completed an extensive 11-month shooting schedule spanning 156 days, with filming taking place across more than 100 locations in South India.

The film features an ensemble cast including Antony Varghese, Mysskin, Kayadu Lohar, Kathir, Parth Tiwari and Samyuktha Viswanathan. Jakes Bejoy has composed the music, while the action sequences have been choreographed by Anbariv Masters. The film has been produced by Dulquer Salmaan and Jom Varghese under Wayfarer Films.