Dulquer Salmaan`s meteoric rise from a promising young actor to Mollywood heartthrob and eventually, to one of the sought-after young stars in the country, is a testament to his talent. The son of celebrated Malayalam actor Mammootty, DQ made his acting debut in 2012 with the crime drama Second Show. Since then, he has appeared in an array of critically and commercially successful movies across various genres in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi cinema. His performance in the acclaimed romantic drama Charlie (2015) won Dulquer the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor in 2016. Besides this, he has also won three Filmfare Awards and a SIIMA Award so far.
EARLY LIFE
Dulquer was born in Kochi, Kerala on July 28th, 1986, to actor Mammootty and Sulfath. After his schooling in Chennai, Dulquer joined the Purdue University in Indiana, USA, to pursue a bachelor`s degree in Business Management. His initial plan was to oversee the family`s business ventures, but the latent acting aspirations eventually caught up with Dulquer, and prior to his foray into Mollywood, he joined the famous Barry John Acting Studio in Mumbai for a three-month course in acting.
PERSONAL LIFE
Dulquer is married to Amal Sufiya, a Chennai-based architect hailing from a North Indian Muslim family. He has an elder sister, Surumi. Dulquer is an entrepreneur and avid motorcyclist. Besides overseeing family business ventures, he also serves as the director of the Bangalore-based Motherhood Hospital.
MOVIE CAREER
Dulquer made his silver screen debut in the 2012 crime drama Second Show, which received positive reviews and became a sleeper hit in spite of the relatively inexperienced cast and crew. His second outing was Ustad Hotel, which was penned by Anjali Menon and directed by Anwar Rasheed. The film went on to become a critical and commercial success, and Dulquer`s performance was especially well-received. In the same year, he essayed the role of a man seeking retribution for the murder of his wife in the crime thriller Theevram, which opened to mixed reviews and was a moderate success at the box office.
The year 2013 started on the right note for Dulquer, with the comedy ABCD: American- Born Confused Desi setting the cash registers ringing at the box office. The movie also marked Dulquer`s debut as a playback singer. He then portrayed the role of a wheelchair-bound photographer in the segment Kullante Bharya in the anthology film 5 Sundarikal. This was followed by Sameer Thahir`s road movie Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi, which earned praise for its subject, visual style and performances and made waves at the box office. Dulquer`s next three outings - Salalah Mobiles, Pattam Pole and Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram - were romantic comedies that turned out to be box office disappointments, though the Tamil version of Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram (titled Vaayai Moodi Pesavum) was well-received.
In 2014, Dulquer starred alongside Nivin Pauly, Nazriya Nazim, Fahadh Faasil, Nithya Menen, Parvathy and Isha Talwar in the ensemble romantic comedy-drama Bangalore Days, which became one of the biggest blockbusters in the history of Malayalam cinema. In the same year, he appeared in Ranjith`s historical drama Njaan and Lal Jose`s coming of age drama Vikramadithyan, both of which fared well both critically and commercially.
The watershed year for Dulquer was 2015, as he forayed into Tamil cinema through eminent director Mani Ratnam`s romantic drama O Kadhal Kanmani. The movie`s dubbed Telugu version OK Bangaram was released simultaneously, and their success sealed Dulquer`s place among the most sought-after names in the South Indian film industry. Dulquer then reunited with Martin Prakkat (the two had earlier worked together in ABCD) for Charlie, where he played the eponymous character of a free-spirited vagabond. The film was met with overwhelming reception at the box office, and Dulquer won a Kerala State Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Charlie.
The year 2016 saw the actor continuing his fine form with Kali, an action thriller where he essayed the role of a youth struggling with anger management issues. Director turned cinematographer Rajeev Ravi`s crime thriller Kammatipaadam was the year`s second offering from Dulquer, and the film was widely appreciated for its realistic portrayal of a pressing social issue. In 2017, Dulquer starred in the comedy-drama Jomonte Suvisheshangal, Amal Neerad`s Comrade in America and the bilingual anthology film Solo, besides appearing in an extended cameo in the drama film Parava. Of these, his performances in Solo and Parava were especially well-received, while the former two films turned out to be box office hits.
In the following year, Dulquer debuted in Telugu cinema with the biographical drama Mahanati (2018), where he essayed the role of yesteryear matinee idol Gemini Ganesan to much critical acclaim. This was followed by the comedy-drama Karwaan, which also marked the actor`s Bollywood debut, where he starred alongside Irrfan Khan and Mithila Palkar. Among Dulquer`s other major recent projects are the Malayalam romantic comedy Oru Yamandan Prema kadha and the Bollywood film The Zoya Factor (2019), where he stars alongside Sonam Kapoor. His 2020 releases include Varane Avashyamund and Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal.