Popular cricketers Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan who have good number of fans in Chennai, after having played for Chennai Super Kings IPL cricket team, are all set to make their Kollywood debut soon.
Irfan Pathan has been roped in to play a role in the upcoming Vikram starrer that is being directed by Ajay Gnanamuthu, while Harbhajan will make his debut in a Santhanam film titled Dikkiloona.
Confirming the news, director Ajay tweeted a picture of himself with Irfan and wrote, "Welcome on board @IrfanPathan Can't wait to unleash your new avatar to the audience!! Time for some solid action!!"
Proud and honoured to introduce @IrfanPathan in #ChiyaanVikram58 in a super stylish action avatar!! Welcome on Board Sir and Wish you a sensational debut#IrfanPathan #BCCI@AjayGnanamuthu @Lalit_SevenScr @arrahman @sooriaruna @iamarunviswa @proyuvraaj @LokeshJey pic.twitter.com/mQTPVFPbU5
— Seven Screen Studio (@7screenstudio) October 14, 2019
On roping in Irfan for the role, the director has said in an interview to the Times of India that he was scouting for a suitable actor who needed to look like a Turk and felt that the cricketer would be the apt choice.
The director said, “I happened to see a couple of Dubsmash videos by Irfan Pathan and thought he would be apt for the role. So, I met him and spoke to him about the film. He was kicked about it and expressed his interest, but also admitted that he wasn’t sure if he could act. He kept asking me if he would be right for the role. But I did all the convincing and eventually, he agreed.”
About his role in the film, Irfan had said that acting in completely new to him, he had done reality shows and cricket commentary and is now excited to give acting a try. He was quoted as saying, “Director Ajay had even come to my house in Vadodara to talk about it. My first question to him was, ‘Why me?’ But he was clear that the role suits me and after that, I was convinced. It will be a real honour to work with Vikram, who is an amazing actor and has done some fabulous movies. I’ve played for India at the highest level, in front of thousands of spectators. No nervousness can be compared to that feeling. At least I will have retakes here.”
Vikram's untitled film referred to as Vikram 58 for now, is currently in progress with the shooting happening in Chennai. Plans are on to wrap up the shooting by January next year. The film will have music by AR Rahman and Sivakumar Vijayan will be responsible for cinematography.
Dikkiloona which stars Santhanam is being directed by Karthik Yogi. The film is produced by KJR Studios in association with Soldiers Factory.
என்னை தமிழ் சினிமாவில் அறிமுகம் செய்யும் @kjr_studios,#dikkiloona @SoldiersFactory,@iamsanthanam குழுவுக்கு நன்றி.#தலைவர் #தல #தளபதி உருவாகிய பூமி.#தமிழ் வார்த்தைகளால் வார்த்திட்ட என்னை தூக்கி நிறுத்திய உறவுகளே.உங்களால் வெள்ளித்திரையில்.இந்த வளர்ச்சிக்கு காரணம் சரவணன் பாண்டியன் pic.twitter.com/W3uIkFgcg5
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 14, 2019
(Content provided by Digital Native)