BON VOYAGE!
South Indian he artthrob Dulquer Salmaan talks about expanding his audience with Karwaan, the biggest lesson he has learnt from his superstar dad Mammootty and why he has a soft spot for road trips
South Indian heartthrob Dulquer Salmaan and YouTube sensation Mithila Palkar goof around as they get set to embark on a road trip that could well change their lives and careers in the quirky slice-of-life movie, Karwaan, out this weekend
FOR FANS OF South Indian heartthrob Dulquer Salmaan, nothing could be more ironic than seeing their favourite star making his “debut” in Bollywood after entertaining them for over six years on celluloid. With 20 odd films to his credit, there is no doubt that megastar Mammootty’s son, DQ (as he is popularly referred to by fans) has etched his name in an industry not known to tolerate mediocrity, even if it comes from one of their reigning superstar’s sons.
Making his ‘debut’
“It’s a rare opportunity for an actor to debut four times,” admits Dulquer, who has made his mark in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films before venturing into Bollywood with the Akarsh Khurana directed Karwaan, that stars him alongside another powerhouse performer Irrfan Khan and YouTube sensation Mithila Palkar. His more high profile role, however, might yet turn out to be The Zoya Factor opposite Sonam Kapoor, which will be out in April, 2019.
Dulquer describes his journey from the South to Bollywood as an organic one. “I feel each film opens doors to other films. My Malayalam work would have got me Tamil films, then an Okay Kanmani would have opened another door. Everyone watches a Mani Ratnam film you know…
“I seem to enjoy languages and if I can speak it convincingly and have that confidence I am happy to try a new line.”
He’s also clear that despite the trailer proclaiming ‘Introducing Dulquer Salmaan’, he didn’t treat Karwaan like a debut film. “I weigh my films according to how good it is, whether it is a film I want to watch… that was all I was looking at.
“Karwaan was a genuinely fun movie and it already had Irrfan on board, so that gave me added confidence. More than anything I felt the idea was genuinely unique.”
Why Karwaan?
Dulquer’s jump from the gritty cinema of the South to the more glamor-
ous world of Bollywood (Karwaan to be fair does not fit into the stereotypical Bollywood space) couldn’t have come at a better time. The Hindi film industry, after all, is currently going through a phase where glossy, feelgood films are finding space alongside experimental fare like Piku, October and Raazi. “Karwaan is in a zone I always enjoy,” says the actor who has made a mark in realistic Malayalam films like
Ustad Hotel, Jomonte Suvisheshangal and Bangalore Days.
“I like slice of life, feel-good movies. This is a quirky, eccentric road trip featuring characters that are so different from each other. And then you have the whole dead body (sic) getting swapped – I felt the premise was very sweet and fresh.”
Life lessons from a famous father
Unlike many other ‘star kids’ (a term which might be technically
right to use in this case, though it is a card that DQ has never used in his interactions with the media or his fans) or even superstars, Dulquer has never tried to play safe in his choice of film roles. On the other hand he has always attempted something different in every role he has taken up starting from his debut film Second Show back in 2012, to the more experimental Solo in 2017, a bilingual project with Bijoy Nambiar, that resulted in him penning a heartfelt emotional letter to fans pleading with them to give his movie “a chance.”
While both Mammootty and Dulquer have two extremely divergent, albeit popular, trajectories in an industry that thrives on talent, it is an anomaly to have a father-son duo that steadfast refuse to talk about each other to the popular media. But that seems to be changing, judging from the interviews the young actor has given for Karwaan where his superstar dad is an obvious talking point even if it is in reference to the down-to-earth childhood he and his sister Surumi enjoyed while growing up in Chennai.
So what’s the biggest lesson he has learnt from his father? “I think it is to constantly seek out good cinema and keep going, keep doing and keep trying,”
Road trip memories
he says after a pause.
“The fate of a movie might not be in our control but we can always work hard and try to do the best kind of movies and also stay relevant. That’s important.”
Staying relevant, is of course a lesson that Mammootty with his four-decade-long successful career in the film industry, can no doubt teach many.
It’s to his father that Dulquer attributes his love for road trips as well and his obvious draw towards movies handling the same subject be it Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi (Blue Skies, Green Seas, Red Earth) or C.I.A (Comrade in America).
“My childhood memories are filled with road trips because my dad loved to drive. Our families are in Cochin and we grew up in Chennai so this Chennai-Cochin drive would happen all the time.
“And Malayalam films are shot everywhere. My dad is always driving everywhere…we’d go to visit him, so we were always on the road.
“I think I tend to do travel movies because I get to travel then and see these places... sometimes with my schedule it is hard to plan otherwise.
One of the biggest perks of being an actor is how much of the world you get to see.”
It’s probably his love for travelling that draws him towards different film industries as well. That and his belief that every movie he does opens a door to another world.
“Everything is an opportunity right? When someone offers you an interesting film like this (Karwaan), and if I can speak the language, I’d be an idiot to say no. The desire to do good cinema is always there and cracking a language is a wonderful thing; it is culturally very enriching. So I have a lot of personal growth when I do films in different languages. Every actor tries to reach as wide an audience as possible, right? That is all there is.”
Generous actor
Besides the obvious range of his talent, which is reflected in his film choices over the years, be it Teevram (2012), Njaan (2014), Kammatti Paadam (2016) or the more recent Telugu film Mahanati where he played the role of Gemini Ganeshan, what sets
apart the young actor from his contemporaries is his obvious humility. Be it the way he handles his success or his camaraderie with his colleagues, Dulquer comes across as a generous actor and human being.
“I don’t think saying good things or being positive ever hurts you. I think what energies you put out comes back, right? The only sort of philosophy I have is ‘always be positive.’
“Energy is something I’m constantly gauging. What energy I get from hearing a script… what energy I am getting from a person. So at some level I think it is a big decider for me.”
The same philosophy holds for his social media posts as well – Dulquer is prolific on his Twitter and Instagram feeds, be it acknowledging a colleague’s good work or thanking an interviewer or merely expressing his joy as a father to a one-year-old daughter.
“Whenever I write, I write from my heart. I am not very good at being fake.”
A sentiment that no doubt explains his status as a heartthrob to fans across the world.
One of the biggest perks of being an actor is how much of the world you get to see.” Dulquer Salmaan