Chennai, Sep 20 :Actor Shanthanu Baghyaraj, who plays a pivotal character in director Unni Sivalingam's upcoming Tamil-Malayalam bilingual sports action drama 'Balti', says he dubbed for the entire film thrice!

Participating in a pre-release event organised by the makers of the film, Shanthanu Baghyaraj said with a smile, "When the director narrated the script to me, I was so impressed with both the script and my character in it that in order to ensure that I did not miss out on the opportunity, I told him I knew to speak Malayalam when I actually could not speak. However, I told him that to enhance my performance in the film, I would require some assistance with dialogue delivery."

Stating that he underwent tuitions in Malayalam to ensure he could speak the language well, the actor said he himself dubbed for his portions in Malayalam. "Initially, I was invited to Kochi for dubbing for the film. We completed it swiftly, and I returned. That was when the director called me and said that there were small, small corrections and if I could return to dub certain parts again. When I went, I dubbed from start to finish all over again. After returning to Chennai, he again said there were minor corrections. I dubbed a third time, again from start to finish."

Shanthanu said he thanked the director for carefully ensuring that dubbing looked perfect. "The first time, the dialogue flow was perfected, the second time, my slang was perfected and then, finally, my performance. I play a Tamil boy who speaks Malayalam. As those in the border regions know both languages well, the director had to ensure that I spoke Malayalam really well. I am thankful that the director paid such close attention to every small detail."

The film, which has triggered huge interest among fans and film buffs, was originally scheduled to hit screens worldwide on August 29 for Onam this year. However, now, the film's release has been pushed to September 26.

Shane Nigam plays a Kabaddi player called Udhayan in the film. The sports drama, that will revolve around the sport of Kabaddi, will showcase Shane Nigam as a fearless raider, who strikes terror in the hearts of the defence of the opposing teams. Interestingly, this film will be an important landmark in Shane Nigam's film career as it is his 25th film.

Apart from Shane Nigam, the film will feature actors Preethi Asrani and Shanthanu Baghyaraj in pivotal roles. More significantly, it will have director Alphonse Puthren, best known for having directed the blockbuster Premam, playing the role of a cold-blooded gangster called Soda Babu.

Actor Shanthanu Baghyaraj plays a character called Kumar in the film while Selvaraghavan plays a character called Porthamarai Bhairavan in the film.

Written and directed by Unni Sivalingam, the film is being produced by Santhosh T Kuruvilla and Binu George Alexander under the banners of STK Frames and Binu George Alexander Productions respectively.

Cinematography for the film is by Alex J Pulickal while art direction is by Ashik S. More significantly, the movie has music by young music sensation Sai Abhyankkar.

Editing for the film is by Shivkumar V.Panicker while costumes have been designed by Melwy J. The film, which will be high on action, has two stunt masters -- Action Sandhosh and Vicky.

/IANS