Dulquer Salmaan (/dulkhr salmaan/; born July 28, 1986) is an Indian actor, playback singer, and film producer who works primarily in Malayalam and Tamil films, as well as Telugu and Hindi. He graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor's degree in business management and worked as a business manager in Dubai before pursuing a career in acting. Dulquer has won numerous awards, including four Filmfare Awards South and a Kerala State Film Award.
Salmaan made his acting debut with Second Show after completing a three-month acting course at the Barry John Acting Studio (2012). Since then, he has established himself as a leading actor in Indian cinema, with films such as Ustad Hotel (2012), ABCD (2013), Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi (2013), Vaayai Moodi Pesavum (2014), Bangalore Days (2014), Vikramadithyan (2014), O Kadhal Kanmani (2015), Charlie (2015), Kali (2016), Jomonte Suvisheshangal (2017), Mahanati (2018), Kurup (2022).
He has been dubbed a fashion icon and an auto enthusiast by the media. He owns several businesses and supports a variety of social causes. He is also the founder of Wayfarer Films, a film production company.
Childhood and family
Main article: The Mammoottys
Dulquer Salmaan was born in Kochi on July 28, 1986. He finished primary school at Toc-H Public School in Vyttila, Kochi, and secondary school at Sishya School in Chennai. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Purdue University and previously worked for an IT firm in Dubai. Later, he decided to pursue a career in acting and enrolled in a three-month course at Mumbai's Barry John Acting Studio. In a 2012 interview, he stated that he chose acting because "somewhere down the road, my life became monotonous and routine."
Career as an actor
The early years (2012–13)
Salmaan signed on to play Harilal, a gangster, in debutante Srinath Rajendran's crime film Second Show (2012) in 2011. When asked about his "unconventional entry with a bunch of newcomers" in an interview, Salmaan stated that it was his conscious decision because "... when an actor debuts, he has to earn the right to be a hero and not get it through a shortcut route."
Salmaan went on to appear in Anwar Rasheed's Ustad Hotel (2012). The film, which won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, was also a commercial success. He also received widespread acclaim for his portrayal of Faizy, an aspiring chef. Salmaan won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut - Malayalam for his performance, as well as his first nomination for Best Actor - Malayalam. Theevram, a crime thriller directed by Roopesh Peethambaran, was his third film. The film was a box office flop when it was released in November 2012.
In 2013, he was cast in Martin Prakkat's comedy-drama ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi, where he made his singing debut with "Johnny Mone Johnny." Both the song and the film became well-known. Though the film received mixed reviews, critics praised his performance. "It is Dulquer Salmaan's show all the way," Sify said, "and in all fairness, the young actor has given his heart and soul into his character." He also appeared in Amal Neerad's segment Kullante Bharya in the anthology film 5 Sundarikal (2013). Salmaan then worked with Sameer Thahir on the road film Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi (2013). Salmaan appeared in cinematographer Alagappan's romantic drama Pattam Pole (2013), which was a commercial flop.
2014–present
Salmaan took on another romantic role in Salalah Mobiles in 2014, opposite Nazriya Nazim; like Pattam Pole, Salalah Mobiles did not fare well for the actor. Salmaan's next appearance was in the bilingual Tamil-Malayalam film Vaayai Moodi Pesavum (2014). While the Malayalam version, Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram, was poorly received, the Tamil version was well received and became a sleeper hit. Salmaan is "a treat to watch," according to IANS, and "he earns extra brownie points for dubbing in his own voice and speaking flawless Tamil." For his performance in the film, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut - Tamil.
Salmaan played Arjun in Anjali Menon's ensemble romantic comedy drama Bangalore Days (2014), alongside Nivin Pauly and Nazriya Nazim as his cousins. The film received favorable reviews and went on to become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time, grossing approximately 500 million (US$6.3 million). Later that year, he co-starred in Lal Jose's Vikramadithyan with Unni Mukundan. He then appeared in Renjith's period drama Njaan, which he described as his "most challenging film yet" (2014). His performance received positive feedback and earned him several awards, including his second Filmfare nomination for Best Actor - Malayalam.
In 2015, he co-starred in two films with Nithya Menen: Jenuse Mohamed's romantic comedy 100 Days of Love and Mani Ratnam's Tamil romantic drama O Kadhal Kanmani. The Hindu's critic Baradwaj Rangan said of Salmaan's performance, "Dulquer Salmaan checks off all boxes in the 'Can You Be The Next Madhavan?' questionnaire," though he thought the film belonged primarily to Menen. Salmaan went on to play the title role in Martin Prakkat's Charlie (2015). The film received eight Kerala State Film Awards, including Best Actor for Salmaan, as well as his third Filmfare nomination for Best Actor - Malayalam.
Salmaan reunited with Sameer Thahir for his first film, Kali, which starred Sai Pallavi. The film had the highest opening day box office gross for a Malayalam film when it was released. After that, he appeared in Rajeev Ravi's action drama Kammatipaadam (2016). The film received positive reviews from critics and became his third consecutive financial success in two years. For his performances in both films, he shared the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics) - Malayalam.
He then appeared in Jomonte Suvisheshangal, a family drama directed by Sathyan Anthikad (2017). Despite commercial comparisons to the 2016 Malayalam drama Jacobinte Swargarajyam, the film did well. His next appearance was in the action-adventure film Comrade in America, directed by Amal Neerad (2017). The Hindu referred to it as "Dulquer's big hit of 2017." He then played four roles in Bejoy Nambiar's Malayalam-Tamil bilingual anthology Solo (2017). The film was critically panned and received widespread audience backlash. Following that, he appeared in the Telugu film Mahanati, a biopic of actress Savitri. His Telugu debut received mostly positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success at the box office. Salmaan's portrayal of Gemini Ganesan received critical acclaim, earning him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics) - Telugu, as well as his first Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actor - Telugu. Later that year, Salmaan made his Bollywood debut in Karwaan, alongside Irrfan Khan and Mithila Palkar. Despite the film's mixed reviews, Salmaan's performance was praised.
In 2019, he appeared in the Malayalam romantic comedy film Oru Yamandan Premakadha, directed by B. Noufal, C. which was a colossal failure. Salmaan's next Bollywood film, The Zoya Factor, will be released in September 2019. The Zoya Factor, a film adaptation of Anuja Chauhan's novel, did not fare well at the box office, but Salmaan's performance was praised. According to the Times of India, "from 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, for which he received his first Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actor - Tamil. Wayfarer Films, his production company, was founded in 2020. Varane Avashyamund, a family drama in which he co-starred with Suresh Gopi, Shobana, and Kalyani Priyadarshan, was his first project as a producer and actor. The film was released in theaters in 2020 and received positive reviews.
Shamzu Zayba's romantic comedy Maniyarayile Ashokan, produced by his production company Wayfarer Films and starring Jacob Gregory and Anupama Parameswaran, is another project of his as a producer. He played the titular role of Sukumara Kurup in the 2021 crime-thriller Kurup, which also marked his third production venture and became the highest grossing Malayalam film in 2021 and the highest-grossing film of his career.
Salute, his film, was released on SonyLIV in March 2022. He then starred alongside Mrunal Thakur in the Telugu-language period romantic drama Sita Ramam. Despite being Malayali, he dubbed in all of the languages in which the film was released, becoming a prominent pan-Indian actor as a result of the film. The film and his performance received widespread critical acclaim, and the film was a huge box-office success. In September 2022, his Bollywood psychological crime thriller Chup: Revenge of the Artist will be released in theaters. Guns & Gulaabs, a Netflix series, and King of Kotha are among his upcoming projects.
Off-screen work and personal life
He married architect Amal Sufiya in an arranged marriage on December 22, 2011. Amal is from a Muslim family from North India who settled in Chennai. The couple has a daughter who was born in May of 2017.
As part of the Kerala Motor Vehicle Department's safe riding campaign, he appeared in a short film. As part of the Chennai Gives initiative, he donated 150 items, including clothing, shoes, books, school supplies, and crockery. He also used to run a car trading website and a dental business chain in Chennai. He is also the director of the Motherhood Hospital in Bangalore.
In the news
GQ ranked Dulquer Salmaan fourth among the 50 most influential young Indians in 2016. GQ included him in their list of the Best Dressed Men in India 2016. Kochi Times, a subsidiary of The Times Group, named him the "Most Desirable Man" in 2013 and 2014. Salmaan became the first actor from Kerala to appear on the October cover of Vogue India in 2019.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Second Show | Harilal "Lalu" | Malayalam | |
| Ustaad Hotel | Faizal "Faizy" Abdul Razak | |||
| Theevram | Harsha Vardhan | |||
| 2013 | ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi | Jones Isaac | ||
| 5 Sundarikal | Injured stuntman | |||
| Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi | Kassi | |||
| Pattam Pole | Karthikeyan "Karthi" | |||
| 2014 | Salalah Mobiles | Afzal | ||
| Vaayai Moodi Pesavum / Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram | Aravind | Bilingual film | ||
| Tamil / Malayalam | ||||
| Bangalore Days | Arjun "Aju" | Malayalam | ||
| Vikramadithyan | Adithyan Menon | |||
| Njaan | K. T. N. Kottoor & Ravi Chandrasekhar | Dual role | ||
| 2015 | 100 Days of Love | Balan K. Nair & Rocky K. Nair | ||
| O Kadhal Kanmani | Aditya "Aadhi" Varadarajan | Tamil | ||
| Charlie | Charlie | Malayalam | ||
| 2016 | Kali | Siddharth | ||
| Kammatipaadam | Krishnan | |||
| Annmariya Kalippilaanu | Angel | Cameo appearance | ||
| 2017 | Jomonte Suvisheshangal | Jomon T. Vincent | ||
| Comrade in America | Aji "Ajipan" Mathew | |||
| Parava | Imran | |||
| Solo | Shekhar, Trilok, Siva and Rudra Ramachandran | Bilingual film; quadruple role | ||
| Malayalam / Tamil | ||||
| 2018 | Mahanati | Gemini Ganesan | Telugu | |
| Karwaan | Avinash Rajpurohit | Hindi | ||
| 2019 | Oru Yamandan Premakadha | Lallu (Mohanlal John Kombanayil) | Malayalam | |
| The Zoya Factor | Nikhil Khoda | Hindi | ||
| 2020 | Varane Avashyamund | Bibeesh P. | Malayalam | Also producer |
| Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal | Siddharth | Tamil | ||
| Maniyarayile Ashokan | Arjun | Malayalam | Also producer; cameo appearance | |
| 2021 | Kurup | Gopikrishnan aka (Sudhakara Kurup / Alexander) | Also producer | |
| 2022 | Hey Sinamika | Yaazhan | Tamil | |
| Salute | Aravind Karunakaran | Malayalam | Also producer | |
| Sita Ramam | Lieutenant Ram | Telugu | ||
| Chup: Revenge of the Artist | Danny/Sebastian Gomes | Hindi | ||
| 2023 | King of Kotha  | TBA | Malayalam | Post Production; also producer |
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Platform | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Guns & Gulaabs | TBA | Hindi | Netflix India | Completed |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Koothara | Trailer narrator |
| 2016 | Mudhugauv | Narrator |
| 2017 | Pokkiri Simon | |
| 2019 | Margamkali | Baby (voice) |
| 2020 | Maniyarayile Ashokan | Narrator |
| 2021 | Maara | Voice-over in trailer |
| 2022 | Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan | Distributor |
| Puzhu | Distributor | |
| Pyali | Co-producer; distributor | |
| Rorschach | Distributor | |
| 2023 | Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam | Distributor |
| Year | Album | Song / Voice |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi | "Johny Mone Johny" |
| 2014 | Manglish | "Njanga Poneanutta" |
| 2015 | Charlie | "Chundari Penne" |
| 2017 | Comrade in America | "Vaanam Thilathilakkanu" |
| "Kerala Manninayi" | ||
| Parava | "Ormakal" | |
| 2018 | Kalyanam | "Dhrithangapulakithan" |
| Malayala Manorama AD | "Puthu Malayalam" | |
| 2019 | Dear Comrade | "Comrade Anthem" (Malayalam Version) |
| Sarbath Kadha | "Sarbath Anthem" | |
| 2020 | Maniyarayile Ashokan | "Unnimaya Song" |
| 2021 | Kurup | "Dingiri Dingale" |
| 2022 | Hey Sinamika | "Achamillai Achamillai" |
| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Asiavision Awards | Best Newcomer | Second Show | Won |
| 2013 | Asianet Film Awards | Best New Face (Male) | Won | |
| Vanitha Film Awards | Won | |||
| Best Star Pair | Ustad Hotel | Won | ||
| Filmfare Awards South | Best Actor – Malayalam | Nominated | ||
| Best Male Debut – South | Second Show | Won | ||
| South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Debut (Male) | Won | ||
| Asiavision Awards | Performer of the Year | Various | Won | |
| 2014 | Asianet Film Awards | Star of the Year | Won | |
| Asiavision Awards | Performer of The Year | Bangalore Days, Vikramadithyan | Won | |
| 2015 | Asianet Film Awards | Star of the Year | Won | |
| Filmfare Awards South | Best Actor – Malayalam | Njaan | Nominated | |
| Best Debut (Male) | Vaayai Moodi Pesavum | Won | ||
| South Indian International Movie Awards | Nominated | |||
| Best Actor | Njaan | Nominated | ||
| Vanitha Film Awards | Best Star Pair | Vikramadithyan | Won | |
| Vijay Awards | Best Debut (Male) | Vaayai Moodi Pesavum | Won | |
| Vikatan Awards | Won | |||
| 2016 | Asianet Film Awards | Most Popular Actor | Charlie | Won |
| Filmfare Awards South | Best Actor – Malayalam | Nominated | ||
| Kerala State Film Awards | Best Actor | Won | ||
| South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Actor | Nominated | ||
| Best Male Playback Singer | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | Asianet Film Awards | Best Actor (Critics) | Kammatipaadam, Kali | Won |
| 2nd IIFA Utsavam | Best Actor | Charlie | Won | |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Nominated | |||
| Filmfare Awards South | Best Actor (Critics) | Kali, Kammatipaadam | Won | |
| South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Actor | Kammatipaadam | Nominated | |
| Asiavision Awards | Solo, Comrade in America, Parava | Won | ||
| 2018 | Asianet Film Awards | Golden Star | Solo, Jomonte Suvisheshangal, Parava | Won |
| Vanitha Film Awards | Popular Actor | Solo, Jomonte Suvisheshangal, Parava, Comrade in America | Won | |
| 2019 | South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Actor – Telugu | Mahanati | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards South | Best Actor – Telugu | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor (Critics) – Telugu | Won | |||
| 2021 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Actor – Tamil | Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal | Nominated |
| South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Actor | Nominated | ||
| Kerala Film Critics Association Awards | Best Actor | Kurup, Salute | Won |
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Salu, DQ |
| Profession(s) | Actor, Singer, Entrepreneur |
| Famous Role | 'Charlie' in the Malayalam film "Charlie" (2015) |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 175 cm in meters- 1.75 m in feet inches- 5’ 9” |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Career | |
| Debut | Film (Malayalam): Second Show (2012) as Harilal "Lalu" Film (Tamil): Vaayai Moodi Pesavum (2014) as Aravind Film (Bollywood): Karwan (2018) as Avinash |
| Awards, Honours | • Asiavision Award for Best Newcomer for the film “Second Show” (2012) • Filmfare Award South for Best Debut- Male for the film “Second Show” (2013) • Asianet Film Award for Star of the Year (2014) • South Indian International Movie Award for Best Debut (Male) for the film “Vaayai Moodi Pesavum” (2015) • Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for the film “Charlie” (2016) • Behindwoods Gold Wall of Famers for Best Performer for the film “Kali” and “Kammatipaadam” (2017) |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 28 July 1986 (Monday) |
| Age (as in 2022) | 36 Years |
| Birthplace | Kochi, Kerala, India |
| Zodiac sign | Leo |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Kochi, Kerala, India |
| School | • Toc-H Public School, Kochi • Sishya School, Chennai |
| College/University | • Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA • Barry John Acting Studio, Mumbai |
| Educational Qualification(s) | •Bachelor of Business Management (BBM) •3 Months acting course |
| Religion | Islam |
| Hobbies | Singing, Watching Films, Travelling |
| Tattoo | On Left Forearm: Black Stripes |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Affairs/Girlfriends | Not Known |
| Marriage Date | 22 December 2011 |
| Family | |
| Wife/Spouse | Amal Sufiya (architect) |
| Children | Son- None Daughter- Maryam |
| Parents | Father- Mammootty (Actor, Producer) Mother- Sulfath Kutty (Homemaker) |
| Siblings | Brother- None Sister- Kutty Surumi (elder) |
| Favourite Things | |
| Favourite Food | Biryani |
| Favourite Actors | Rajinikanth, Pawan Kalyan, Mahesh Babu |
| Favourite Director | Mani Ratnam |
| Favourite Superheros | Ironman, Batman |
| Favourite App | |
| Favourite Holiday Destination | London |
| Favourite Films | Manam (2014), Magadheera (2009) |
