Sep 04, 2026 4:21pm IST
‘I’m Game’ Review: Dulquer Salmaan Deals A Good ‘Hand’ With This Action Entertainer
If you’ve seen Dulquer Salmaan’s body of work, you’re aware of the man’s range. If "Bangalore Days" showcased him as a man-child's coming-of-age, "Charlie" spelt out why Mammooty's son worked so well as an endearing enigma. "Kali" brought to the fore his character's encounters with rage. "Sita Ramam," "Kurup," "Kaantha" all had him in charismatic turns.
And this time around, with “I’m Game,” you have to ‘hand’ it to him. As Dan John, a gambler on a generational losing streak, he is incorrigible, irresponsible and a cad to boot. He owns a company, lives off daddy’s money and is an only child. His addiction gets the better of him and he doesn’t really care who he’s pissing off, sort of like a junkie who gets off the thrill of the moment.
Related Stories
A near-fatal accident leaves Dan with an inevitable amputation, which means he gets a hand transplant from an unknown donor while in a coma. While the transplant is successful and several physiotherapy sessions later, the hand gets a life of its own. He falls for his therapist at around the same time. And that’s when it all goes haywire for him. Who does the hand belong to, and why does it go a little crazy in the vicinity of a rotund businessman?
This tale of possession, revenge and addiction tries to be everything and do everything all at once. And it does so, rather stylishly. That said, you begin to question Dan’s sanity as he goes off the deep end. His gambling habit brings him to the brink of death and he reaches out to embrace it with open arms. It’s almost like it’s his own personal Stockholm Syndrome.
The possessed hand and the initial pursuit of its original owner leads to several of the film’s comedic moments as Dulquer’s Dan tries to make sense of the situation; more so, when he tries to take advantage of his fresh streak of good luck. Except, that it soon loses the novelty, crawling back into your good graces once the hand wants to go on a killing spree even though the host doesn’t want to.
Mysskin, who plays David Abraham, brings the menace with a measured heft before unleashing hell on everyone who crosses him. Anthony Varghese, the star of "Angamaly Diaries" and "Jallikkattu" as Vignesh Das, becomes the character. DQ, by comparison, only brings the pizzazz and the kicks and punches when push comes to shove. Kayadu Lohar has precious little to do as Dan’s love interest while Samyuktha Vishwanathan, who plays Vignesh aka Vicky’s girlfriend has her moments.
It is the action choreography by Anbariv (Anbumani and Arivumani), possibly one of the most inventive ones in Indian cinema of late, that genuinely wows you. Add to that the kinetic camerawork by Jimshi Khaled, the brilliant background score and soundtrack by Jakes Bejoy and you know that director Nahas Hidhayath is possibly slapping himself on the back for assembling a good team. The story could’ve been a lot tighter, though. No fault of Chaman Chacko, here.
But at close to 180 minutes, there’s plenty that could’ve been shaved off to make this a far more worthwhile watch, especially the long drawn recovery and the extended flashback. Though emotional, it goes on for quite a bit.
All said and done, though, this is a massy entertainer that doesn’t disappoint if you go in with few expectations. Despite the anger issue parallels, it’s nowhere close to a “Kaali.” This one’s a no-brainer, the action scenes need to be viewed in the theatres, they’re really THAT good!
Comments are moderated. They may be edited for clarity and reprinting in whole or in part in Variety publications.