It was Dulquer Salmaan’s birthday on Friday (July 28), when the slick teaser of his bilingual, Solo, in Tamil and Malayalam, directed by Bejoy Nambiar, was unveiled in the city.
DC caught up with Dulquer, as he spoke about how challenging it was working in an anthology (Solo), on his dad Mammootty, essaying late Tamil star Gemini Ganesan in late actress Savithri’s biopic, Nadigaiyar Thilagam (Mahanati in Telugu) and on Mani Ratnam.
“It’s really scary that Bejoy has chosen to celebrate my birthday this way in front of the press and media (laughs) as it has never been done before. I have been lucky to work with best of filmmakers and films. Bejoy has become a good friend,” he starts his conversation.
On Solo, he says, “People have been accepting and encouraging courageous films with good content. That way, Solo is an anthology of four different stories with earth, wind, fire and water associated with them — it has a mythical connect as well. We have worked with 11 music composers and three cinematographers. Whereas I appear in all four parts, the rest of the cast changes for each episode — like Dhanshika and Shruti Hariharan, among others. Being a bilingual, it was like working in eight films (four in each) and was not simple. Imagine 15 songs in each version.”(shrugs)
He says Mani Ratnam is his lucky charm — “Mani sir was the chief guest for my first Tamil movie and I did my second Oh Kadhal Kanmani with him; now he is here for the third! As long as he is present, my movies are a big success and now also I feel ‘I am safe’.”(smiles)
Shifting the topic to his veteran father Mammootty, he says, “Appa has given me full freedom. He doesn’t interfere in my work. Of course, I do have the responsibility of carrying on dad’s legacy in films.”
On remaking Mammootty’s old classics, Dulquer says, “Leave alone appa’s, for that matter, I don’t think any of the old blockbusters should be remade. They will not go with the present changing trends and audiences’ taste in cinema.”
The young star, who says that he is choosy about his films, is open to multi-starrers. Ask him if he would give his nod when approached for a film with Ajith or Vijay, pat comes his reply, “Why not, provided the story suits me!”
All the directors who Dulquer collaborates with, are in praise of him. In fact, Nag Ashwin, who’s helming Savitri’s biopic, says that the actor totally surrendered to the role, even though the Telugu language was a barrier. How was it portraying yet another late actor in Gemini Ganesan, husband of Savitri, we ask him. “I feel it is one of the biggest honours to play Gemini Ganesan sir. I know the responsibilities associated with it, and I am very excited. The kind of scale the film is being made on is amazing,” he shares.
Is he a Kadhal Mannan in real life too? He was quick to answer, “Do I look like one? I am a happily married man with a kid.” (chuckles) On his Chennai connect, Dulquer signs off, saying, “I love Chennai and the Tamil audience. I want to act in more Tamil flicks. Whenever I get a break, I immediately travel to the city.”
