How Malayalam star Dulquer Salman, hero of OK Kanmani, is conquering Kollywood

Image source: Filmysouth

Dulquer Salman is going places. Having made his mark in hit Malayalam films like Usthad Hotel and Bangalore Days, the star son of veteran Mammootty is now hot property in Kollywood as well. He played lead to perfection in the big Kollywood release, OK Kanmani, by Mani Ratnam.

Earlier this year, he won the Vikatan Award for Best Debut for his role in the Tamil film Vaayai Moodi Pesavum. The talented, good looking actor is sure rocking Tamil cinema.

Here’s how he got there:

Movie debut

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Dulquer made his on-screen debut three years ago in Second Show. He has said he was terrified of failing and took a long time to decide on a film career. At the time, he was in Chennai, running a website.

Daddy knows best

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His father, Mammootty, apparently told Dulquer to go ahead and enter films because it wasn’t as if his life depended on it. And that’s what Dulquer did. In preparation, he worked on short films and also took a course in acting.

Youth brigade

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Dulquer is part of a new breed of South actors, ready to experiment and share screen space with contemporaries, in a departure from the hero-centric films of the previous generation. He was, for instance, part of an ensemble cast in the hit film Bangalore Days, in which he teamed up with childhood friend Fahad Fazil and Nivin Pauly.

Actors he likes

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In Kollywood, Dulquer says he’s a fan of actors like Vijay Sethupathi, Dhanush and Sivakarthikeyan and would love to work with them.

On Kollywood films

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Dulquer is in awe of the mega budgets and fantasy films of Kollywood. He’s also a big fan of offbeat indie films like Pizza and Naduvula Konjam Pakatha Kaanom.

Fave Tamil films of his dad

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Dulquer picks Azhagan and Thalapathy as his favourite Mammootty films in Tamil. Would he like to star in a remake of any of them? ‘Not a chance,’ he said in an interview. ‘They are classics and must be left that way.’