In a freewheeling chat with BT, South actor Dulquer Salmaan, Malayalam superstar Mammootty’s son, talks about his upcoming Bollywood debut and more...
Lasyapriya Sundaram (BOMBAY TIMES; July 31, 2018)

Dulquer Salmaan, known for his acting chops in Malayalam and Tamil films, is all set to make his debut in Bollywood with Karwaan. Also known as DQ, the actor who made his Malayalam cinema debut with Second Show (2012), has established himself as a star with films like Bangalore Days (2014), O Kadhal Kanmani (2015) and Kammatipaadam (2016) to name a few. The actor talks about not being affected by stardom, his need to be constantly challenged by roles and how he plans to strike a balance between Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi films. Excerpts...

Do people always mispronounce your name?
In school, when there was a new teacher who would go through the roll call register, as soon as she would come to my name, she would stop. I would usually stand up and say my name (laughs!). All the kids would wait for a bad pronunciation. When I was studying in America, it was a joke. People have stolen my name tags when I was working. It’s a great icebreaker though. I think the correct pronunciation of my name is slowly registering.

You are a huge star in Malayalam cinema, where mainstream films are content-driven.For you,is Karwaan an ideal film to make a debut in Bollywood?
Whether it was Tamil or Hindi cinema, I have never looked at it as making a debut. Even when I did my first Malayalam film, I didn’t look at it as a launch. Being a part of memorable movies has always been the goal. Karwaan is a film driven by good content and it’s honest. It wasn’t like anything I had heard before. When opportunities come my way, the only thing that’s important is whether there is an intent to make good cinema.

You had once said that you don’t like doing work that seems easy. Can you elaborate?
When you just coast through work and don’t feel inspired, I feel you are lying to yourself. I don’t want to do acting as a chore or a job. I feel that it has to scare me. Fear works for me.

What scared you about Karwaan?
I am not fluent in Hindi. I know the language, but it’s not something that I can improvise. If I want to add something during the take, it’s not easy for me. I would ask the director for help. So, that was challenging. And the fact that I was going to share screen space with Irrfan was reason enough to be scared (laughs!). I didn’t want to waste his time or disappoint him. I would prep well enough to deliver. In my head, I am never good enough as an actor. But Irrfan sir is amazing. Everyone will watch the film because he is in it and as a result of that, people will watch me, too. He is the kind of actor who can take the film a few notches higher than the script. I am lucky that my debut, in that sense, is happening in a film with him. The film is Avinash’s (his character in the film) story and Irrfan sir didn’t have to do the role that he has. But I think he is an actor who sees the script as the hero.

You don’t mind doing a role that perhaps is not the main lead, but is important as far as the narrative is concerned. Case in point being your Malayalam films like Bangalore Days (2014) and Kammatipaadam (2016). How do you choose your films?
You are quoting the film and that means I was part of a memorable film. As an actor in Malayalam cinema, you get a lot of opportunities to play the lead. A film like Solo (2017) was four different stories with me as the common factor. Beyond that, I can’t be greedy. I want to be part of the best movies of the year.

Stardom has clearly not affected you...
No and I hope it never does. I can never say that I have a fan following. I keep referring to them as the viewers of my film. I can’t come to terms with stardom or see myself as a star. Superstars or stars are the ones I grew up admiring. All the superstars of Malayalam cinema have the attributes of a star. I am just a movie buff who acts in movies.

How do you plan to strike a balance between Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi cinema? Kamal Haasan has famously said in the past that in the 1980s, the time taken to make a Hindi film was way longer than South films.
Earlier, when I was doing films in just one language, it was easier to meet everyone who came to narrate a story. But with me dabbling in other language films increasingly, I think I am lagging behind. Some people are getting upset because of that. They perceive that to be my disinterest. Striking a balance then is tricky. It’s not easy to please everyone. Sometimes, there are big names and stars involved and that space becomes a little difficult to navigate. Also, I don’t like overcommitting. The movies need to be fresh and if I commit to a movie today that might get made three years later, then it will appear dated. Coming to the second part of the question, in the 1980s, things were very different. Technically, Karwaan was shot in 34 days, which is quicker than my average Malayalam film. Today, a Malayalam film takes at least 50 days. The younger filmmakers are indulgent and they want to take their time. The senior directors follow the old school of filmmaking, where they keep the cost component of shooting for many days in mind and want to wrap up things within a stipulated period. Today, it is possible to do films in different industries.

Nepotism is a word that’s been bandied about in Bollywood for a while now. You are the legendary Malayalam actor Mammootty’s son, however, nepotism has never really been a problem in the Malayalam industry, isn’t it ?
Traditionally, there have never been second generation actors in Malayalam cinema. When I was growing up, acting was not even an option. My mother told me that my dad had won a lottery and it’s highly unlikely that I will ever make it. Prem Nazir’s son didn’t make it. In fact, other star kids who have tried in the past haven’t made it. As parents, they were protective. My dad told me that it wasn’t an easy place to be in. In fact, I didn’t even relate to the kind of films that were made in the 1990s in the Malayalam industry. There used to be long dialogues and that’s not the way people speak. I could never imagine myself being part of those movies. My generation just got lucky. Young directors brought in a different manner of storytelling. So, nepotism is not something that people have to contend with in the South film industries. In Malayalam films, star kids are a minority. Stardom can be fickle. Growing up, we were never led to believe that my father would enjoy stardom all his life. For them, sending me to college in America was a big deal. They told me that I should make it count. In fact, people ask my sister and me why we are so down to earth. But we don’t know any other way to be.

You are also doing The Zoya Factor next opposite Sonam Kapoor. You will be playing the Indian cricket captain. Are you taking any tips from MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli to essay the role?
A film on Dhoni has already been made. Like I played Gemini Ganesan in Mahanati (2018), I am going to do this role in my own way.

The Malayalam film industry has been in the news because of actor Dileep’s arrest last year in connection to an actress’ abduction case. And recently, there was a controversy over his reinstatement into the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). Considering the fact that you belong to the new generation of actors, what are the changes that you want to see in the industry today?
I don’t see myself as someone who is going to bring about change. I have always had a good time working in the Malayalam film industry. I love the attitude everybody has. With the younger generation, there is a lot more awareness about everything. Everybody is equal. I have never really faced an issue. It’s been genuinely wonderful for me, whether I am collaborating with members who belong to the older generation or the younger lot. I wish I could talk about the issues I have faced but I haven’t.