Dulquer Salmaan

Dulquer Salmaan (; born 28 July 1983) is an Indian actor, singer and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam films. One of the highest paid Malayalam actors, Salmaan is a recipient of several awards including five Filmfare Awards South, one Kerala State Film Award, one Kerala Film Critics Association Award and one Gaddar Telangana Film Award.

Born to actor Mammootty, Salmaan graduated with a bachelor's degree in business management from Purdue University and worked as a business manager in Dubai before pursuing a career in acting. After a three-month acting course at the Barry John acting Studio, Salmaan made his acting debut with '' Second Show'' (2012) and received the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South for his performance in '' Ustad Hotel'' (2012).

Following his performance in '' ABCD'' (2013), '' Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi'' (2013), '' Vaayai Moodi Pesavum'' (2014), Salmaan achieved his career breakthrough with '' Bangalore Days'' (2014). He established himself as a leading Malayalam actor with '' Vikramadithyan'' (2014), '' Charlie'' (2015), which earned him Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor, ''Kali'' (2016), '' Kammatti Paadam'' (2016), '' Jomonte Suvisheshangal'' (2017) and '' Kurup'' (2021). Salmaan expanded to Tamil films with the box office successes, '' O Kadhal Kanmani'' (2015) and '' Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal'' (2020). His highest-grossing releases came with the Telugu films ''Mahanati'' (2018), '' Sita Ramam'' (2022) and '' Lucky Baskhar'' (2024). For ''Mahanati'' and ''Sita Ramam'', he won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor – Telugu.

Alongside his acting career, Salmaan is a producer, singer and philanthropist. He is married to architect Amal Sufiya with whom he has a daughter.

Personal life and family

Dulquer Salmaan was born on 28 July 1983 in Kochi. He is the youngest son of the actor Mammootty. He completed his primary level education at Toc-H Public School, Vyttila, Kochi and his secondary level education at Sishya School in Chennai. He has a bachelor's degree in Business Management from Purdue University and worked at an IT firm in Dubai. Later, bored by the monotony of corporate life, he decided to pursue a career in acting and attended a three-month acting course at the Barry John Acting Studio in Mumbai.

On 22 December 2011, Salmaan married architect Amal Sufiya in an arranged marriage. Amal comes from a North Indian Muslim family settled in Chennai. The couple has a daughter born on 5 May 2017.

Amal and Dulquer attended the same school, with Amal being five years junior to Dulquer. According to Dulquer, they coincidentally met three or four times. Dulquer later initiated contact by messaging Amal on Facebook to arrange a coffee meeting.

Career

Early work (2012–13)

In 2011, Salmaan signed on for debutante Srinath Rajendran's crime film '' Second Show'' (2012) in which he played the role of Harilal, a gangster. When asked in an interview about his "unconventional entry with a bunch of newcomers", Salmaan stated that it was his conscious decision as he felt that " ... when an actor debuts, he has to earn the right to be a hero and not get it through a shortcut route." The film was a commercial success.

Salmaan next starred in Anwar Rasheed's '' Ustad Hotel'' (2012). The film, which received the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, was also a major commercial success at the box office. He received praises for his portrayal of Faizy a budding chef, and a critic of ''Sify'' noted, "Dulquer continues his fine form following his impressive debut in ''Second Show''". For his performance, Salmaan won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – Malayalam, in addition to his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam. His third film was '' Theevram'', a crime thriller directed by Roopesh Peethambaran. The film, which released in November 2012, was a box office failure.

In 2013, he signed on to appear in Martin Prakkat's comedy-drama '' ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi'' in which he made his singing debut with "Johnny Mone Johnny". Both the song and the film became popular. Though the film received mixed reviews, his performance was well received by critics. Sify stated: "It is Dulquer Salmaan's show all the way and in all fairness the young actor has given his heart and soul into his character." He was also part of Amal Neerad's segment ''Kullante Bharya'' in the anthology film '' 5 Sundarikal'' (2013). Salmaan then collaborated with Sameer Thahir in '' Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi'' (2013), a road film. Salmaan starred in his "first love story", cinematographer Alagappan's romantic drama '' Pattam Pole'' (2013), which was a commercial failure.

Established actor (2014–2016)

In 2014, Salmaan took on another romantic role in '' Salalah Mobiles'', with Nazriya Nazim opposite him; like ''Pattam Pole'', ''Salalah Mobiles'' could not garner much success for the actor. Salmaan's next appearance was in the Tamil-Malayalam bilingual '' Vaayai Moodi Pesavum'' (2014). While the Malayalam version '' Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram'' was received poorly, the Tamil version received positive reviews and became a sleeper hit. '' IANS'' stated that Salmaan is "a treat to watch" and added, "he earns extra brownie points for dubbing in his own voice and speaking flawless Tamil." He won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – Tamil for his performance in the film. Salmaan felt that the film did not work in Malayalam due to the different sensibilities of the audience.

Salmaan established himself as a leading Malayalam actor with Anjali Menon's '' Bangalore Days'', his other release of 2014. Salmaan played a biker Arjun, opposite Parvathy, with Nivin Pauly and Nazriya Nazim as his cousins. The film emerged as one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time, grossing around . Aswin J Kumar of ''The Times of India'' noted, "Dulquer brings in a rugged charm and a brusque carelessness into Arjun." Later that year, he co-starred with Unni Mukundan in Lal Jose's '' Vikramadithyan''. He then starred in what he called his "most challenging film yet" in Renjith's period drama ''Njaan''. His performance received favourable reviews and earned him several accolades, including his second Best Actor – Malayalam nomination at Filmfare.

Further success came in 2015 with two films opposite Nithya Menen —Jenuse Mohamed's Malayalam film '' 100 Days of Love'', and Mani Ratnam's Tamil film '' O Kadhal Kanmani'', where he played a video game developer. Baradwaj Rangan wrote: "Dulquer checks off all boxes in the 'Can You Be The Next Madhavan?' questionnaire" and Haricharan Pudipeddi noted, "Dulquer is at ease, speaking his lines in Tamil; he looked most suitable in the role." Though both believed the film belonged primarily to Menen. Salmaan next played the titular role of a carefree vagabond in '' Charlie'', which earned him the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor, in addition to his third Filmfare Best Actor – Malayalam nomination. Vishnu Varma of ''The Indian Express'' noted, "For a film that gravitates and leans too much on the central character, Dulquer clearly does not disappoint. He has set the bar indeed high with this role." All three films emerged as box office successes, thus establishing his career.

Salmaan played a man facing anger management issues in his first Malayalam release of 2016, ''Kali'' opposite Sai Pallavi. The film emerged a commercial success. Deepa Soman of ''The Times of India'' stated, "Dulquer is quite convincing, without excess drama. The action scenes showcase his attitude and style." He then played a lower cast boy in another Malayalam release ''Kammatipaadam'', which garnered critical acclaim; Salmaan's performance being praised. Both performances earned him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor – Malayalam.

Career expansion (2017–2021)

He then appeared in Sathyan Anthikad's family drama '' Jomonte Suvisheshangal'' (2017). Despite comparisons with the 2016 Malayalam drama '' Jacobinte Swargarajyam'', the film did well commercially. His next appearance was in Amal Neerad's action-adventure film '' Comrade in America'' (2017). ''The Hindu'' called it "Dulquer's big hit of 2017". He then portrayed four roles in the Malayalam-Tamil bilingual anthology ''Solo'' (2017) directed by Bejoy Nambiar. The film was critically panned and faced immense backlash from the audience. He next featured in the Telugu film ''Mahanati'', a biopic on actress Savitri. His Telugu debut, the film opened to highly positive reviews from critics and emerged as a commercial success at the box office. Salmaan's portrayal of Gemini Ganesan was acclaimed, and earned him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor – Telugu, in addition to his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu. Later that year, Salmaan made his Hindi film debut with '' Karwaan'', co-starring alongside Irrfan Khan and Mithila Palkar''.'' Though the film received mixed reviews, Salmaan's performance was appreciated.

In 2019, he starred in ''Oru Yamandan Premakadha'' a Malayalam romantic comedy film directed by B. C. Noufal. which was a big flop. After '' Karwaan'', Salmaan's next Bollywood film ''The Zoya Factor'' released in September 2019. Abhishek Sharma's film adaptation of Anuja Chauhan's novel '' The Zoya Factor'' did not perform well at the box-office but Salmaan's performance was appreciated. ''The Times of India'' stated: "From being playful to intense, Dulquer steals the show as he is absolutely brilliant in his portrayal".

Salmaan's 2020 projects included the Tamil film '' Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal'', which earned him his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. In 2020, his production company, Wayfarer Films, was launched. His first released project as a producer and actor was the family drama '' Varane Avashyamund'' where he co-starred alongside Suresh Gopi, Shobana and Kalyani Priyadarshan. The film hit the screens in 2020 and garnered positive reviews.

Other project of him as a producer is Shamzu Zayba's romantic-comedy '' Maniyarayile Ashokan'' which is produced through his production company, Wayfarer Films, and starring Jacob Gregory and Anupama Parameswaran. He starred in the 2021 crime-thriller '' Kurup'' in which he played the title role of Sukumara Kurup, also marks his third production venture which has become the highest grossing Malayalam film in 2021 and the highest-grossing film of his career.

Success and recognition (2022–present)

Salmaan's first release of 2022 was the Tamil film '' Hey Sinamika'' opposite Aditi Rao Hydari and Kajal Aggarwal. It was a box office failure. His next co-production, Malayalam film '' Salute'' opposite Diana Penty was released in SonyLIV and fetched him positive reviews for his portrayal of a police officer. Salmaan then appeared in the Telugu film '' Sita Ramam'' opposite Mrunal Thakur, that won him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor – Telugu. Despite being a Malayali, he dubbed in all the languages in which the film was released, thus becoming a prominent pan-Indian actor with the film. The film and his performance received critical acclaim and the film proved to be a major commercial success at the box-office. Janani K of ''India Today'' noted, "Dulquer Salmaan hit it out of the park with their performance. Dulquer as Ram and Mrunal as Sita are picture perfect." His last release that year was the Hindi film '' Chup: Revenge of the Artist'', which received mixed reviews.

In 2023, Salmaan first appeared in the web with '' Guns & Gulaabs'', a Netflix series. He played a Narcotics officer opposite Pooja Gor. Saibal Chatterjee stated that he gives a "wonderful performance". Next he appeared in the Malayalam film '' King of Kotha'' opposite Aishwarya Lekshmi, which he also co-produced, but was a box office failure. Salmaan started 2024 with a cameo appearance in ''Kalki 2898 AD'', which became the year's second highest-grossing Indian film. His next release that year was '' Lucky Baskhar'' opposite Meenakshi Chaudhary. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo noted, "Dulquer portrays Baskhar with all sincerity. Dulquer is in control, both in speaking the language and enhancing the solid writing in the later portions." A box office success, it emerged as his highest grossing release.

Other work and public image

Salmaan is considered among the most popular and highest-paid actors of Malayalam cinema. In 2017, he appeared in ''Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list, where he was placed at 79th position with an estimated annual income of . He stood at the 6th place in its most influential stars on Instagram in South cinema for the year 2021.

Salmaan was ranked fourth by '' GQ'' in their listing of the 50 most influential young Indians of 2016. He was also featured by ''GQ'' in their listing of the Best Dressed Men India 2016. He was selected as the "Most Desirable Man" in 2013, 2014 and 2020 by ''Kochi Times'', a subsidiary of ''The Times Group''. In 2019, Salmaan became the first Malayalam actor to get featured on the cover of '' Vogue India''. Salmaan has acted in a short film as part of the Kerala motor vehicle department's safe riding campaign. He donated 150 items, including clothing, shoes, books, school supplies and crockery items, as a part of the Chennai Gives initiative. In addition, he used to run a web portal for trading cars, and a dental business chain in Chennai. He also is the director of the Bangalore-based Motherhood Hospital.

Discography

* (D) indicates dubbing.

Accolades

Salmaan has received the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for ''Charlie''. Additionally, he has won five Filmfare Awards South out of eleven nominations: Best Male Debut – South for ''Ustad Hotel'' and ''Vaayai Moodi Pesavum'', Best Actor Critics – Malayalam for ''Kali'' and ''Kammatipaadam'', and Best Actor Critics – Telugu for ''Mahanati'' and ''Sita Ramam''. He has also won Gaddar Telangana Film Award Special Jury for Lucky Baskhar.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Salmaan, Dulquer
1980s births
Living people
Indian male film actors
Male actors in Malayalam cinema
Male actors in Tamil cinema
Male actors in Hindi cinema
Male actors in Telugu cinema
Male actors from Kochi
Filmfare Awards South winners
Kerala Film Critics Awards winners
Krannert School of Management alumni
21st-century Indian male actors
South Indian International Movie Awards winners
Kerala State Film Award winners
Age controversies
Indian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates
Indian expatriates in the United States
IIFA Utsavam winners
Year of birth missing (living people)