Malayalam actor Dulquer Salmaan, who has made a mark in Tamil and Telugu industry, has back to back projects till next year. Hence, he is said to have backed out of the upcoming Mani Ratnam directorial.

Sources close to the actor confirmed that Dulquer might not be featured in the veteran filmmaker's untitled Tamil-Telugu bilingual, which also has Karthi in the lead role.

Latest reports suggest that Nani of "Eega" fame will replace Dulquer in the project.

Even though the film was expected to go on the floors in December this year, Mani Ratnam has reportedly postponed the shooting date of the project and that has left Dulquer with no other option than to walk out.

"Earlier this week, Nani met Mani Ratnam at his office here and signed on the dotted line. He is said to have replaced Dulquer who, with two Malayalam films in his kitty, couldn't find dates to allocate for this project," a source from the film's unit told IANS.

The Mani Ratnam directorial is believed to be a revenge drama that also has Nithya Menon and Keerthy Suresh.

Currently, Dulquer is busy with the shooting of Rajeev Ravi's upcoming untitled flick. He has completed Martin Prakkat's "Charlie" and has Sameer Tahir's romantic action thriller as well as films by Prathap Pothen, Jomon T John and Amal Neerad in his kitty.

Meanwhile, the Telugu dubbing works of Dulquer's hit Malayalam film "Ustad Hotel" has also begun recently. The dubbed version of Dulquer and Nithya starrer is titled "Jathaga" and is expected to hit the screens next month once the dubbing work is complete. 

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