Over a dozen non-Malayalam films! Our Dulquer now belongs to them too

Dulquer Salmaan’s latest film ‘Kaantha’ is making waves at theatres today, continuing his successful journey beyond Malayalam cinema. The movie tells the story of T K Mahadevan, an actor who rises from being a street performer to becoming a celebrated film star. ‘Kaantha’ has been released in Tamil and Telugu as well, strengthening Dulquer’s presence in South Indian markets.

Dulquer’s journey in non-Malayalam cinema began in 2014 with the Tamil film ‘Vaayai Moodi Pesavum’ (released in Malayalam as Samsaaram Arogyathinu Hanikaram), starring Nazriya Nazim and directed by Balaji Mohan. His next Tamil venture was ‘O Kadhal Kanmani’ (2015), directed by the legendary Mani Ratnam, alongside Nithya Menen, featuring chart-topping A R Rahman compositions. The film, though made on a modest budget, became a major hit.

In 2017, Dulquer starred in ‘Solo’, which released simultaneously in Tamil and Malayalam. He then appeared in Tamil films like ‘Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal’ (2016) and the 2022 romantic comedy ‘Hey Sinamika;, choreographer Brindha Master’s directorial venture, inspired by the Argentine film A Boyfriend for My Wife.

Dulquer made his Telugu debut with ‘Mahanati’, a biopic on actress Savitri Ganesh, directed by Nag Ashwin, with Keerthy Suresh in the lead. The film was a blockbuster. His next Telugu project was the period romance ‘SitaRamam’, where his portrayal of Lieutenant Ram won immense fan admiration. The film also released in Tamil and Malayalam, and later dubbed into Hindi. He was also part of Nag Ashwin’s magnum opus ‘Brahmāstra’ and starred in ‘Lucky Bhaskar’, directed by Venky Atluri. The Diwali release of ‘Lucky Bhaskar’ in Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi earned widespread acclaim, and the OTT release became a hit as well. Two more Telugu films are currently in the pipeline.

In Bollywood, Dulquer made his debut with ‘Karwaan’, directed by Akarsh Khurana, alongside Irfan Khan. His next project, The ‘Zoya Factor’, unfortunately failed to create theatre buzz. He also starred in R Balki’s ‘Chup’, featuring Sunny Deol, and led the Netflix series ‘Guns and Gulabs’.

Dulquer Salmaan continues to prove that talent knows no boundaries, effortlessly crossing linguistic and regional lines while charming audiences across India and beyond.