Dulquer Salmaan recently revealed that his upcoming gangster action thriller directed by Nahas Hidhayath, titled I’m Game, is the most expensive film he has ever made, both as a producer and as an actor.

Speaking during a promotional interaction with director Venky Atluri ahead of the film’s Thursday release, he said, “It’s definitely my highest-budgeted film. As a producer and as an actor, this is the biggest budget I’ve done yet,”

He explained that the scale of the investment was a deliberate decision tied to a larger vision and that his upcoming film is not intended to be a standalone film. Dulquer shared that he is building a universe with the franchise. “In my head, because I was like, we have to kind of build this world. And if we’re doing multiple films and it’s going to be a universe we’re creating, I have to invest in the first film. This is my only thing,” he said.

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He was also candid about the financial anxiety that comes with that bet. “I was like, it might not work. But if it works, I feel like I will make it back in the next film. This is my thinking,” he said. He added with a laugh, “I was like, dude, if this doesn’t work, how many movies do I have to do to pay back this debt? So, we have that calculation.” The film is produced by Dulquer under his Wayfarer Films banner.

I’m Game was originally scheduled to release on August 20, during the Onam window, one of Malayalam cinema’s most lucrative release periods. Dulquer pulled it out of the holiday season and pushed it to September 3, a decision that surprised many given the commercial value of an Onam release.

He explained the reasoning directly. “I even pushed the date because there’s too much riding on this film. I would like a clean date where I’m not competing with other films,” he said. “We’ve had a great Onam. The films have all done well. So I think we have a nice window now which also works in other languages.”

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The release date allows I’m Game to release across five languages simultaneously: Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Kannada, giving it a pan-India window that would have been impossible during the Onam crush.

In the conversation, Dulquer Salmaan revealed that his father, Mammootty, has directly told him he wants Dulquer Salmaan to return to Malayalam cinema more frequently. He said Malayalam cinema is always his first priority.

I’m Game marks Dulquer’s return to Malayalam films after a three-year gap, his last Malayalam release being King of Kotha (2023), which underperformed at the box office. “I’m coming back to Malayalam after three years. The last innings wasn’t that great,” he admitted.

I’m Game, directed by Nahas Hidhayath of RDX fame, stars Dulquer Salmaan as Dan John, a carefree gambler whose mathematical betting system spirals into a high-stakes crisis. The cast includes Kayadu Lohar, Antony Varghese, Mysskin, Vinay Forrt, Sham Prasad and Jayasudha. The music is by Jakes Bejoy, cinematography by Nimish Ravi and Jimshi Khalid, and editing by Chaman Chacko.