Dulquer Salmaan might just be the closest thing to a prince among the recent Bollywood entrants. Son of Malayalam megastar Mammootty and a successful leading man acting across South Indian languages (he recently played screen idol - and Rekha’s dad - Gemini Ganesan in the hit bilingual Savitri biopic Mahanati), the young actor is beloved not just for his considerable onscreen chops but for his solid social media game (his Instagram is witty and self-deprecating), his sharp, classic, GQ-ready style, and his charmingly deferential offscreen persona.

Although Salmaan has starred in about twenty four films (including Mani Ratnam’s hit OK Kanmani, remade wanly in Hindi as Ok Jaanu), the recent Karwaan, which has attracted positive notices for his effortless screen presence and understated performance, is his first film in Hindi and may be his introduction to audiences not familiar with Malayalam or Tamil cinema. One hopes his new admirers will not wait for The Zoya Factor (in which he teams up with Sonam Kapoor) to encounter him and will, instead, look up charmers like Bangalore Days or even Bejoy Nambiar’s experimental quadriptych, Solo, in which Salmaan plays multiple characters, to get their DQ fix.

We at BollyBrit are excited to see this talented (and handsome!) young actor do more exciting work in Bollywood and outside it! 

FACTS:

Age: 32
Notable performances: Second Show, Charlie, Bangalore Days, Karwaan, Solo
Awards: 2 Filmfare Awards, Kerala State Film Award
Upcoming films: Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal, Vaan, Zoya Factor, Sukumara Kurup, Oru Yamandan Premakadha