Though Dulquer Salman has predominantly worked in Malayalam films, he needs no introduction across the country. Dulquer has a solid background… his father is the Malayalam superstar Mammootty. A handsome hunk and a brilliant actor, Dulquer Salman has established himself as one of the top heroes in Malayalam. Although he made his debut in Malayalam, Dulquer was able to make a name for himself in all languages. Dulquer quickly reached the top range, especially with a selection of films that connect to urban youth. Dulquer became popular in Malayalam and later made films in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, and gained following in all languages.
Dulquer is known as a stylish icon who has acted in almost 30 films in all languages combined. Dulquer made his entry as a hero as Mammootty's son but went on to create his own image in the industry. This is also the reason he plays characters that are way too different from his father's. Though he is yet to beat his father in terms of acting, the craze he has is almost equal to Mammootty's. Dulquer journey to stardom is very interesting. We bring the story to you...
Born on July 28, Dulquer Salman is the second child of Mohammed Kutty Panaparambil Ismail and Sulfath. You might be confused with the father's name but that's the real name of the Malayalam star hero Mammootty. Dulquer Salman has an older sister Kutty Surumi. Dulquer Salman completed his primary education at Toc-H Public School, Kochi. Dulquer Salman moved to Chennai for secondary education. Dulquer Salman completed his schooling at the Sishya School there. He then went to the US for higher education and completed business management at the prestigious Purdue University there. He worked in the US for a few years after graduation. After that he came to Dubai and did an IT job. There he started a web portal related to car trading. The business was doing well but Dulquer was not satisfied with it. Things were going good, but Dulquer did not think it was exciting. With that he closed the business and came home.
Dulquer Salman wanted to do something creative and that was the reason he chose to enter films. At first, Dulquer wanted to be behind the camera and direct films. He also made a fun short film with Mammootty at a very young age.
Many big directors lined-up to launch Mammootty's son as a hero. But Mammootty did not want that to happen. Even Dulquer was not ready to be launched as a big hero's son. Dulquer was afraid that if he entered films in his father's light, then he would only get safe stories. That’s why he opted for a very different story of his launch film. Before this, director Shyam Prasad approached Dulquer for a film called Ritu. Director Linguswamy also considered Dulquer for his Malayalam debut film. But Dulquer wanted to do something different.
Mammootty has also told Dulquer that "entering films is your decision and don't expect me to make phone calls to anyone". However, he took care of his responsibility of a father by enrolling him at Mumbai's Barry John acting studio. There Dulquer got trained as an actor for three months.
After completing the course at the Acting School, Dulquer Salman did not want to be a hero in the shortcut. For his first film, Dulquer was more interested in working with newcomers than experienced directors. It was during this that he met Srinath Rajendran. Srinath was trying to make a film with his friend Vini Vishwalal. Srinath told the story to Dulquer and he loved it. But Dulquer said that he wanted to travel with this story for a while. After a few months of travel the script of the film "Second Show" was ready. Even Mammootty did not know much about the story of this film. Nobody in the industry knew that Mammootty’s son was being launched as a hero.
Nearly 90 percent of the cast and crew of Second Show were newcomers. Gautami Nair was introduced as the heroine. Dulquer Salman played the role of a gangster named Harilal in the film. The film took the whole industry by surprise. The film ran with an average talk for the first three days. However, the film gained momentum from then on and was a great success. Those who worked on this film got better opportunities. Dulquer won the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Hero.
After succeeding in his first film, Dulquer Salman caught the attention of the industry. Everyone started talking how different the film was and how daring Mammootty's son was. By this time, Dulquer already committed to his second film. Dulquer played the lead role in the film Ustad Hotel directed by Anwar Rashid. The story of the film was provided by Anjali Menon. Initially, the makers considered Siddharth to be the hero for the film but Siddharth did not like the story. With this, Anjali Menon and Anwar Rashid heard that Mammootty's son was being launched as a hero and decided that Dulquer would be a good fit for the role of Faizi in Ustad Hotel.
The shooting of the film Ustad Hotel started in January 2012. The film was originally slated to release on May 11, 2012, but the release got delayed for some reasons and it finally hit screens on June 29. Ustad Hotel has received a huge response since the day of its release. With his second film, Dulquer Salman not only proved himself as an actor but also became a commercial success. Ustad Hotel has surpassed all expectations and received three National Awards. Ustad Hotel received the National Award for Best Popular Film, Best Dialogue and in Special Mention. The film was later dubbed into Telugu and was released under the name Janata Hotel.
Dulquer Salman has chosen "Theevram" as his third film. Earlier, Dulquer turned down the offer to do "June Chitra" due to various reasons. However, he agreed to do Theevram right away. The film was first offered to Fahad Fazil but he couldn't do it due to dates clash. With that, Dulquer got the chance. The film revolves around the story of taking revenge on those responsible for the death of his wife.
The shooting of the film shooting began in August 2012. The film was released on November 16 of the same year. Theevram garnered average reviews after its release. The story of the film is good but due to the flaws in the taking, the film failed to impress the audience. With this, Theevram made average business.
In 2013, Dulquer Salman okayed to do the film "ABCD: American Born Confused Desi". Shooting for the film began in March 2013. Based on the story, major part of the film was shot in the US. The film's music was scored by Gopi Sundar. Directed by Martin Prackett, the film was a huge success. The film has been remade in Telugu. The movie was remade with Allu Sirish as the hero and it retained the title. However, the success achieved in Malayalam was not repeated in Telugu.
With the popularity of social media, anthology films are now becoming very famous. But Dulquer Salman starred in an anthology film way back in 2013. Under the name "5 Sundarikal", the film was released by turning 5 different episodes into a story. Dulquer Salman acted in the film of Kullante's wife in the movie 5 Sundarikal. The music of the film was directed by Gopi Sundar. Anwar Rashid, who also shot Ustad Hotel with Dulquer, also directed a part in the film. The story part directed by Anwar is named Amy.
In 2013, Dulquer Salman starred in another movie titled "Neelakasam Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi". This movie is a road travel movie. The film, directed by Sameer Tahir, started shooting in February 2013 and was completed in June 2013. The film is being shot in a total of 8 states. The film was shot in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Sikkim and Nagaland. The film was released in August 2013. The film was a super hit at the Kerala box office. After that, Dulquer earned cult following in Kerala, and so did the movie. Young people, in particular, were fascinated by the film. The film is said to have boosted tourism and road travel in Kerala. Also the buyers of bullet bikes grew well in the state of Kerala after this movie. Dulquer Salman's another film "Pattam Pole" released in the same year and it turned out to be a flop. Salah Mobiles, starring Dulquer Salman and Nazriya, also failed to impress the audience.
In 2014, Dulquer Salman made his Tamil film debut. Director Balaji Mohan, who made his directorial debut with the Telugu film ""Love Failure" starring Siddharth as the hero, was set to make his second film "Vayamudi Pesavum" in Tamil. The film was shot in Malayalam with some changes and additions in the casting. Nazriya once again played the heroine opposite Dulquer. The film started shooting in November 2013 and was released on April 25, 2014 in Tamil and Malayalam. The Tamil version of the film was titled "Ssamsaram Arogyatinu Hanikaram". The film was a super duper hit in Tamil but flopped in Malayalam. Dulquer Salman impressed the audience with his debut film in Tamil.
The same year saw the release of the film "Bangalore Days", the biggest hit of Dulquer Salman's career. Directed by Anjali Menon, who narrated the story of Ustad Hotel, the film is a sensation in Malayalam. Starring Nivin Pauly, Nazriya and Dulquer Salman in the lead roles, the film stars Parvati, Fahad Fazil and Nitya Menon in prominent roles. The film, which came with such a huge casting, was a success in the lower range. The film was a success and won many awards. Bangalore Days bagged three Kerala State Awards. Nivin Pauly, Nazriya won Best Actor and Best Actress, while Anjali Menon won Best Screenplay. The film was remade in Tamil in 2016 under the title Bangalore Natkal. Bommarillu Bhaskar directed the remake and our Bhallaladeva Rana Daggubati played a pivotal role. The film, which was a super hit in Malayalam, did not play in the expected range in Tamil.
In the year 2014, Dulquer completed another film titled "Vikramaditya". The film is directed by Lal Jose and stars Dulquer, Unni Mukundan, Namita Pramod and Nivin Pauly. Released on July 25, 2014, the film received rave reviews. Vikramaditya grossed Rs 15 crore at the Kerala box office.
After a super hit like Vikramaditya, Dulquer Salman has acted in a challenging film in his career. Dulquer Salman himself said this in an interview. The name of the movie is Njan. The film was directed by Ranjith. The film stars Jyothi Krishna and Shruti Ramachandran as the heroines. Released on 19 September 2014, the film was a huge success in Dulquer's career. The film vividly portrays the conditions in the villages of Kerala before independence. Dulquer's performance also impressed critics and fans alike.
2015 was the most important year for Dulquer's career. Because Dulquer has done three films this year and all three of these films have been super duper hits one after the other. This year he has acted in two films with Nithya Menon. The first is 100 Days of Love. This movie is a cute romantic entertainer. Released on March 20, 2015, 100 Days of Love was a huge hit. The film is also dubbed in Telugu. The success that came in Malayalam did not come in Telugu.
Dulquer Salman has made a Tamil film for the second time this year. dulquer got the opportunity to work with Top director Mani Ratnam. Nithya Menon acted as lead against dulquer in O Kaadhal Kanmani. The film was a huge success in Tamil. The film was released in Telugu as OK Bangaram and in Malayalam as OK Kanmani. In 2017, the film was remade in Hindi with the title OK Janu. The iconic technicians worked on the film O Kaadhal Kanmani. The music was composed by AR Rahman and each song became a super duper hit. Also PC Shriram is the cinematographer for this film. Sreekar Prasad was in charge of editing.
Charlie, the biggest hit of Dulquer Salman's career, was released in 2015. The film is directed by Martin Prackett. Parvati and Aparna Gopinath acted as heroines. Released on December 24, 2015, the film grossed over Rs 42 crore and received super hit status. Dulquer was showered with praises for his performance in the film.
Kali is the first co-starrer between Dulquer Salman and Sai Pallavi. This movie is a romantic action adventure. What kind of trouble did the girl get when she got married to a guy with an Anger issue. The film opens with the story of the consequences. The film is directed by Sameer Tahir. The film was released on March 26, 2016. Kali did well at the Malayalam box office. The film has been dubbed in Telugu under the title Hey Pillagada.
Director Rajeev Ravi has screened a hard hitting gangster drama with Dulquer Salman. The movie Kammatipadam opens in the backdrop of the difficulties faced by Dalits due to the real estate mafia in an area called Kammatipadam in Kochi. The film was hailed as the best gangster film of all time in Malayalam cinema. Starring Dulquer Salman and Vinayakan in the lead roles, the film was another great success.
Dulquer Salman, Aishwarya Rajesh, Anupama Parameswaran as the hero and heroines in the movie Jomonte Suvisheshangal. Dulquer plays the son and Mukesh the father. The film was another hit in Dulquer's career. With a string of successes, Dulquer's career took off in the Malayalam industry. The film grossed a whopping Rs 43 crore and surprised everyone. The film is dubbed in Telugu as Beautiful Life. The movie is currently being streamed on Amazon Prime. Dulquer's Comrade in America also brought positive talk after the film.
In 2017, Dulquer Salman did another experiment. The film was released on October 5, 2017. The film was shot in Tamil and Malayalam. Solo is actually an anthology movie. Four different stories are told in the same movie. These four stories symbolize the four natural elements fire, earth, water and air. In these four stories, Dulquer Salman plays the hero and the rest of the cast changes. The film was released in Telugu under the name Athade. Solo movie is another super hit movie in Dulquer's career. Dulquer Salman was able to explore another aspect of himself as an actor through this film.
In 2018, Dulquer Salman did not make a single Malayalam film. Instead he made his debut in Telugu and Hindi. Dulquer played the role of Gemini Ganeshan in the great film based on Savitrama's life starring Kirti Suresh in the lead role directed by Nag Ashwin. Despite the lack of language, Dulquer Salman impressed the Telugu audience immensely with his performance. It goes without saying that Mahanadi was a huge success. At first it was thought that Vijay Devarakonda would be taken for the role of Gemini Ganesan. However, Vijay was replaced by Dulquer as he wanted an actor who could narrate Telugu dialogues in Tamil tone. Mahanadi has been released in Telugu as well as Tamil and Malayalam.
Dulquer Salman made his Hindi debut in the same year with the film Karwan. The film, starring Dulquer Salman opposite Irrfan Khan, received a mixed response but it was Dulquer's first Hindi project so it was very special to him. Even though it was the first film in Hindi, Dulquer did not bother anywhere. He said in an interview that he made Hindi as his second language during his study days so he made it easier. He also said that he was more troubled in terms of language during his Telugu debut than his Hindi debut.
Both the films made by Dulquer Salman in 2019 did not give the expected result. The second film in Hindi, The Zoya Factor, received rave reviews from critics. However at the box office the film was a big flop. Also oru Yamandan prema katha made after some gap in Malayalam did not play in the range as expected. The film received a mixed response from the audience.
In 2020, Dulquer Salman became a producer. Not only the producer but also Dulquer will be playing the lead role in the film. Suresh Gopi, Shobhana, Dulquer Salman and Kalyani Priyadarshan starrer Varane Avashyamund has brought positive talk. Released in February, the film was a success for Dulquer Salman again after a gap. The film grossed Rs 31 crore at the box office.
In the same year, Dulquer Salman starred in another Tamil film. Ritu Verma opposite Dulquer Salman in Kannum Kannum Kollayidithal directed by Dasing Periyasamy. Leading director Gautam Menon will be seen in a pivotal role in the film, which revolves around cheating, love and money. The movie was released on 28 February 2020. The film is dubbed in Telugu with the title Kanulu Kanulanu Dochayante. The film became a super duper hit in Telugu and Tamil. Nearly 15 days after the film's release, theaters were closed for almost eight months due to a nationwide lockdown due to the corona virus.
Currently Dulquer Salman is acting in various films. The film Kurup in which he played the lead role with a huge budget, has been released in Malayalam as well as almost 5 languages and gained good response Dulquer is also the producer of the movie Kurup. Apart from Kurup, Dulquer has acted in Salute and Hey movies. Dulquer has done up to 30 films in his career so far. Acted in all four languages. Dulquer has the highest success rate.
Right from the start of his career, Dulquer Salman made it a point to choose different stories and every story he did has something very new. That is why even if his films fail, Dulquer's performance has never failed. Dulquer has won many awards in his career and his approach to doing something new is also a reason for this...
* Named at the Asia Vision Awards, Asianet Film Awards Best Debut Hero Awards for Second Show.
* Ustad Hotel won the Vanitha Film Awards as well as the Filmfare Award.
* He won a SIIMA award as the Best Debut Hero for her first film Second Show.
* Dulquer Salman received the Asia Vision Awards as the Performer of the Year for the years 2013 and 2014.
* He was also honored with the Asianet Film Awards as the Star of the Year for 2014 and 2015.
* The fillm Charlie, which is very special in Dulquer's career, has won many awards. Charlie received the State Award, NAFA Award, Filmfare and SIIMA Awards. He also got SIIMA Award is for a song sung in the movie Charlie.
* Dulquer Salman, who played the role of Gemini Ganeshan in the movie Mahanadi, won the Best Actor, Best Actor Critics and SIIMA Award.
* Apart from these, Dulquer Salman has also received several awards for various films.
Honors
* Dulquer Salman was ranked 4th in the list of 50 most influential young Indians by GQ magazine. This is the list for the year 2016.
* Dulquer Salman was also named in the same GQ Magazine's Best Dressed Men India 2016 list.
* Dulquer Salman was named the Most Desirable Men by the Times Group for the Kochi Times in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
* Dulquer featured in the October 2019 edition on the Vogue India cover page. Dulquer Salman was the first hero from Kerala to receive this honor.
As a singer, narrator
Dulquer Salman is famous in Malayalam movies not only as an actor but also as a singer. Dulquer Salman has also served as a narrator for several films.
Dulquer Salman entertained everyone by singing in ABCD, Manglish, Charlie, Comrade in America, Parava, Kalyanam, Malayalam Manorama Adi, Dear Comrade (Malayalam version), Sharbat Katha, Manyarayile Asokan.
* He was the narrator for the films Koothara, Mudugav, Pokkiri Simon, Margankali, and Manyarayile Ashokan.
Personal life
Dulquer Salman was married in 2011 before he got into movies. It was an alliance set up by his parents. He married Amal Sufia on 22 December 2011. Amal Sufia hails from the North Indian Muslim community settled in Chennai, and she is an architect. They had a baby in 2017. They named her Maryam Amirah Salman.
Dulquer Salman also has a lot of social responsibility. Dulquer starred in a short film as part of the Kerala Motor Vehicle Department's Safe Riding Campaign. As part of the Chennai Gives Initiative, Dulquer Salman donated 150 items such as clothes, shoes, school supplies and other items.
Dulquer also has several businesses. He runs a web portal for trading cars. Dulquer is also the director of Motherhood Hospital in Bangalore. Apart from that, Dulquer also has a dental business chain in Chennai.
Dulquer Salman, who has received his mark in every language he has done, wants to play more amazing roles in the future.
