One of the upcoming pan-India stars, Dulquer Salmaan, is celebrating his 35th birthday today. He has mesmerised the nation time and again with his acting. Making his debut in 2012 with Second Show, he has since gone on to act in many blockbusters like Ustad Hotel (2012), Bangalore Days (2014), O Kadhal Kanmani (2015) and Mahanati (2018). But somewhere in between, Dulquer Salmaan has also delivered some underrated performances, which not everyone knows about. He has become one of the young heartthrobs of the Malayalam cinema-going audience, taking over from his father Mammootty.
The language barrier hasn’t held him back. Apart from Malayalam movies, he has stamped his feet in the Tamil, Telugu and Hindi film industries as well. And with upcoming projects like Kurup, Salute and Hey Sinamika, his stardom is set to reach a whole new level in the coming months.
On the occasion of his birthday, Dulquer Salmaan took to Twitter and shared the wonderful birthday gift he received, which was the first poster of his upcoming Telugu project titled Yuddham Tho Rasina Prema Katha. The movie is a period drama where Dulquer Salmaan plays a character called Lieutenant Ram.
Thank you for the lovely surprise you guys. Here’s a poster of my next Telugu project with Hanu Raghavapudi.
It has been a great learning experience shooting for this one across India and can’t wait for you guys to watch it on screen. @SwapnaDuttCh @SwapnaCinema @hanurpudi pic.twitter.com/Ht272CUMZc
— dulquer salmaan (@dulQuer) July 28, 2021
But before all that, let’s just check out some underrated performances of Dulquer Salmaan that you might not have watched yet.
#1 Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi (2013)
This road-trip movie is a must for every youngster to check out. Starring Dulquer Salmaan, as a young man who embarks on a road trip from Kerala to Nagaland on his Royal Enfield, the movie, as well as the trip, is full of twists and turns. The story has a romantic touch to it, with the protagonist being in search of the girl he loves. Shot in seven Indian states, the movie did well at the box office. But it got lost in the pile of successful movies that Dulquer Salmaan has done. Lately, though, this masterpiece has been rediscovered.
Where to watch – Disney+ Hotstar
#2 Vikramadithyan (2014)
Though Dulquer Salmaan has done comedy in many movies, he hasn’t acted in many out-and-out comedy movies. Vikramadithyan is one such movie. Here, the protagonist falls in love with a woman and pretends to be a policeman to marry her. Hence, a comical series of events ensue, including a rivalry between two youngsters trying to one-up each other. It’s one of the truly underrated performances of Dulquer Salmaan and one that you should definitely check out for an hour or two of laughter.
Where to watch – Amazon Prime Video
#3 100 Days of Love (2015)
Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menen are one of the most popular actor pairings in South India. The duo has delivered hits like Ustad Hotel and O Kadhal Kanmani together. But one of their movies which is not talked about as much is this one. This movie is about a man and a woman who meet by chance and the unfortunate circumstances they find themselves in. It focuses on those early days of love when the two people meet each other, fall in love and start dating.
Where to watch – MX Player
#4 Charlie (2015)
While the magic of R Madhavan’s Tamil movie, Maara, is still on our minds, not many of us have seen the original Malayalam movie. Charlie is the story of a mysterious man who is always on the road, helping people everywhere. Directed by Martin Prakkat, the movie won several state awards and inspired two remakes but after nearly 6 years of its release, Charlie has remained one of the underrated performances from Dulquer Salmaan in his career.
Where to watch – JioCinema, MX Player
#5 Solo (2017)
Solo is an experimental movie in all respects and hasn’t been tried before in Indian cinema. In this movie, Dulquer Salmaan portrays not one but 4 characters, all with their own unique stories. While all 4 segments of this anthology are important to watch, the world of Rudra is a particularly good one. This movie does well in exploiting Dulquer Salmaan’s range as an actor and is well-directed by Bejoy Nambiar.
Where to watch – MX Player
#6 CIA (2015)
CIA (Comrade in America) is a romantic drama that tells the story of a stout communist from Kerala and his adventures in reaching the USA to stop his girlfriend’s marriage. It focuses on the protagonist’s political beliefs and how they change when he falls in love. The movie received largely positive reviews on its release. It is also widely considered to be the inspiration for Vijay Deverakonda’s Dear Comrade (although, the plots couldn’t be more different).
Where to watch – Netflix
#7 Karwaan (2018)
Dulquer Salmaan’s debut in Bollywood was with Karwaan. The movie’s story is full of heart and yet, so funny. Primarily centered on father-son relationships, the movie is also relatable for youngsters who are stuck in an uninteresting profession and unable to follow their dreams. Also, his chemistry with Irrfan Khan is something to watch out for. It’s one of the underrated performances by Dulquer Salmaan in his career.
Where to watch – Amazon Prime Video
#8 Varane Avashyamund (2020)
Released just before the Covid-19 pandemic got severe in the country, this Malayalam movie had all the ingredients of a blockbuster. It had an amazing cast of Dulquer Salmaan, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Suresh Gopi and Shobana. The story was intriguing too – four people who live in the same building and have starkly different personalities. However, for some reason, Varane Avashyamund was only a moderate success and certainly not the most memorable movie of Dulquer Salmaan in recent times. (though, it did well on Netflix).
Where to watch – Netflix
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