Dulquer Salmaan marked his return to Malayalam cinema with the action thriller I’m Game, directed by Nahas Hidhayath, which released in theatres on September 3. The film received mixed reviews and underperformed at the box office. On X, a fan claimed that his production house, Wayfarer Films, was responsible for the film’s failure. Dulquer noted the fan’s theory and did not outright negate it, admitting that most of it was right.
What Dulquer said
On Wednesday, a fan of Dulquer said on X, “There was a very long thread (Now deleted) which i posted after the release of ImGame. I have explained how WF messed the project. Its true that sometime it goes out of control but this time it was pure mistakes happened from production side. Hope you have seen that thread DQ!”
In response, Dulquer admitted that he had seen the analysis but he could not put the entire blame on a team as it is never easy to examine these issues on the basis of a single product. “I read through it. I’m not saying you were wrong in your analysis. You were mostly right. And trust me we are aware of all of it. But there are just times when from our end we can do everything right. But outside factors or other circumstances can turn those upside down. It’s easy to analyse an end product or result. But it takes 2-300 people to make a film. It’s never easy. Never simple. And never something you can apply formulae or academics to. No production house or actor in world cinema intends to make mistakes or a bad film. In life has everything gone the way you intended ? So imagine an entity that operates with an internal team and multiple external teams. I’ll always stand by my team and if you want to blame someone you can blame me,” he added.
Release of I’m Game
I’m Game was set to release on Onam, clashing with Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Khalifa and Nivin Pauly’s Bethlehem Kudumba Unit. It was then postponed to a September release.
On release day, several fans complained about content delays, screening issues, cancelled shows, and more. Several X posts flagged that while theatres received Malayalam content on Thursday morning, the day of release, the Telugu, Tamil and Hindi versions are facing delays. One X user wrote, “Several Telugu shows were cancelled this morning and almost all Tamil and Hindi shows will be cancelled today. This is unprofessional behaviour from the makers. Take your time, delay the release but deliver the content on time. I can’t understand these last-minute changes and DCP deliveries. This unnecessary pressure on cinemas and the damage to the show’s reputation are unacceptable.”
I’m Game was produced by Dulquer Salmaan and Jom Varghese under the banner of Wayfarer Films. It stars Dulquer, alongside Antony Varghese, Mysskin, Kayadu Lohar, Samyuktha Viswanathan, Kathir, Vinay Forrt and Parth Tiwari.
