Ajith-starrer Valimai finds a fan in English cricketer Moeen Ali: ‘People tagged me in trailers, looks high-end’

Ajith Kumar-starrer Tamil action thriller Valimai released in theatres on Thursday. But the film’s path to cinema halls wasn’t without delays. And even as the film’s star cast and crew fielded questions about the delays constantly, a certain celeb, outside of the showbiz world, also got caught up in the middle of this. Starting last year, English cricketer Moeen Ali became the subject of Ajith’s fans’ jokes, with them hilariously asking him for updates about the film’s release. In a new video, Moeen addresses the puzzling questions about Valimai and also talks about his first impressions of the film and Ajith. (Also read: Valimai review: Terrific action in Ajith Kumar film supersedes predictable story)

In a video posted by Chennai Super Kings – for whom Moeen plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL) – on Instagram on Thursday, Moeen addresses the episode. “So when I was asked this question, I honestly didn’t know what it was. I’d never heard of Valimai. There were people sending me stuff on social media and I’m not on there so I didn’t see all of it. Recently, I saw a massive poster saying, ‘Valimai update,’ and people were sending me videos and tagging me in trailers,” he says.

“Valimai update?” was a question constantly posed by fans to the film’s star Ajith, director Vinoth and even producer Boney Kapoor. The reason was the frequent delays the film ahead of its release. The project was first announced in October 2019. But the restrictions put in place due to Covid-19 pandemic meant it was delayed several times before eventually releasing on February 24, 2022.

Amid all this, Moeen Ali turned to his Indian colleague Dinesh Karthik to get a sense of the messages he was being bombarded with. He says in the video, “I asked Dinesh Karthik, ‘What is Valimai update?’ and he told me it’s a movie that is coming out. Then, I did a little bit of research and learnt that it was a movie that was obviously coming out for a long time and there was no sign.” He even got to know a little about the film’s lead Ajith. “I know he is a really big actor,” he adds. (Also read: Boney Kapoor shares Ajith Kumar’s look from his next film. See pic)

But now that the movie has released, Moeen’s curiosity is indeed piqued. He doesn’t reveal whether he would watch it but has nice things to say about it, based on the trailer. “That looks like a very high end movie. You know, it better be good,” says Moeen. Valimai also stars Karthikeya and Huma Qureshi.

Funnily enough, fans now seem to have taken their joke to the next level. The Instagram video of Moeen had several comments from actor Vijay fans asking for an update for the actor’s upcoming film Beast. Just like Valimai, Beast is a Tamil action-thriller that has faced delays due to the pandemic. The film stars Vijay and Pooja Hegde in the lead and has been in production since the pandemic began.

ott:10