Dulquer Salmaan on Lucky Baskhar, hating the word ‘pan-India’: ‘I can’t live in my former glory’

“Ideally, I privation to bash 3-4 films a year, and alternate betwixt each language. I would emotion to motion a movie connected Monday, and decorativeness the sprout connected Friday. But it is truly not successful my hands, and I besides had immoderate wellness issues. “Turning 40 is simply a existent thing, I guess,” says a smiling Dulquer, who is presently doing the promotional rounds for his upcoming movie Lucky Baskhar, directed by Venky Atluri. 

ALSO READ: Lucky Baskhar trailer: In pursuit of money, Dulquer Salmaan realises there’s thing incorrect with taking risks for family

‘Everyone is excited astir making money’

Lucky Baskhar is acceptable successful the precocious 80s, and it is astir a communal antheral uncovering a mode to go affluent by some hook and crook. “What I truly liked astir the movie is that it was a relatable communicative of a communal man. We person either heard of idiosyncratic similar him, oregon been successful his shoes. What helium does to flooded economical pressures of the family, and the repercussions of his choices is what Lucky Baskhar is each about,” says Dulquer, who added that everyone loves to spot protagonists with grey shades due to the fact that it allows them to unrecorded vicariously. 

“Everybody is excited astir making money, right? Of course, successful existent life, we cognize the favoritism betwixt close and wrong. Even successful Lucky Baskhar, we aren’t glorifying oregon encouraging breaking the rules, but determination is nary uncertainty that determination is simply a wide fascination for radical who skirt astir the rules,” points retired Dulquer. 

‘I can’t inactive support coming of property oregon uncovering myself successful my films’

Although Dulquer Salmaan has done immoderate varied roles successful his 12-year-old career, determination person been times erstwhile consecutive roles person been akin to each other. “There was a inclination of doing municipality NRI characters for a while. Then I did a clump of emotion stories. And now, a agelong database of play dramas. But yeah, I similar doing grey shaded characters. I’m done with the coming-of-age genre and uncovering myself successful each different film. I’ve crossed that age. Also, arsenic actors, we similar grey characters due to the fact that we tin behave extracurricular our ain personality,” says the OK Kanmani actor, who believes that this fascination is not conscionable among actors, but the assemblage too.

“Why are existent transgression documentaries popular? We privation to cognize however idiosyncratic other tin interruption rules, wounded somebody, and perpetrate crimes. We mightiness not bash it, but we request to cognize the whys and hows.” 

‘My woman misses maine a lot…’ 

King of Kotha, Kurup, Guns and Gulaabs, Sita Ramam, Lucky Baskhar, and the upcoming Tamil film, Kaantha, person 1 happening successful communal isolated from starring Dulquer Salmaan. They are each play dramas with the films being acceptable successful the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. In fact, his different films since 2021, see Kalki 2898 AD, which was acceptable successful the future, Salute, which starred him successful the relation of an aged cop, and Hey Sinamika, which is astir apt the lone movie acceptable successful the modern era.

“As an actor, I americium unfastened to acting successful each genre. Honestly, each this dressing up and surviving successful the look isn’t easy. So, successful immoderate ways, I don’t privation to instrumentality up specified a movie successful the adjacent future,” reveals Dulquer, who candidly admits that 1 can’t constitute thing successful factual presumption successful the tract of cinema. “What if the publication is genuinely beauteous and authentic? Why should I accidental no? That is incorrect towards my art, and the histrion successful me,” says the Salute histrion who speaks fondly astir making films acceptable successful the vintage epoch due to the fact that it allows much play successful storytelling. “Everything is simply a spot excessively instant now, right?”

Also Dulquer admits that determination is simply a benignant of trepidation that filmmakers mightiness conjure up a play movie successful their head, and deliberation that is his superior yardstick to greenlight a project. “There are a fewer rules successful my head, including my unwillingness to prima successful remakes. I privation to combat for bully roles,” says Dulquer, who admits that continuously appearing successful play films does person its just stock of problems. “Whenever I facetime with my wife, I americium successful 1 look oregon another. She’d beryllium similar ‘I miss my husband.’”

Here’s the Lucky Baskhar Trailer:

‘I can’t unrecorded successful my erstwhile glory…’

At immoderate point, you mightiness deliberation occurrence and nonaccomplishment is par for the people for immoderate actor. However, it is refreshing to enactment that an histrion is candid astir really reveling successful the unexpected and unprecedented occurrence of their film. “Undoubtedly, Sita Ramam is simply a precise peculiar film. But honestly, I can’t unrecorded successful my erstwhile glory. It was pugnacious to determination connected from that benignant of love, but it is important to determination up arsenic an actor, find caller films. Just similar Sita Ramam, I judge my different films similar Lucky Baskhar and Kaantha should besides beryllium loved and celebrated. That emotion is addictive. You don’t get it if you program for it, you person to let it to happen,” says Dulquer, who calls the unbridled emotion helium receives extracurricular the Malayalam manufacture arsenic a blessing. 

“When I started disconnected successful Malayalam cinema, I lone thought that I would besides person a lineup successful Tamil. After Ustaad Hotel, I received a fewer offers from Hindi. But I ne'er ever imagined a vocation successful Telugu,” says the Mahanati actor. “When Dil Raju sir archetypal offered maine something, I was scared. I didn’t privation them to instrumentality that risk. The aforesaid happened with Mahanati too. But the accumulation house, and the filmmaker invested their precious clip with me. So immoderate emotion coming my way, oregon my Telugu cinema career, I property it each to Nagi (Nag Ashwini) Swapna Dutt, and Ashwini garu. They took the implicit risk, and I americium conscionable precise blessed.” 

‘I hatred the connection pan-India’

Considering Dulquer Salmaan efficiently juggles betwixt Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi cinema, determination is nary uncertainty that helium is decidedly a pan-Indian star. Probably wherefore it comes arsenic a astonishment erstwhile helium vehemently says, “I hatred the connection pan-India.” Elaborating connected his disdain towards the term, Dulquer talks astir Kantara. “A occurrence similar Kantara is genuinely the best. Every movie should beryllium rooted somewhere. It has to archer the communicative of 1 place, and with the dubbing, we should lone purpose to scope a wider assemblage and assistance them recognize the movie better.”

Dulquer goes connected to explicate wherefore casting pan-Indian faces is simply a amended thought than catering your publication to entreaty to each conception of the audience. “They similar watching acquainted faces. Take, for instance, Sita Ramam, which had actors from each crossed the country. So, successful each language, you had idiosyncratic you were acquainted with. But it was inactive rooted successful 1 place. The aforesaid happening happened with Kantara. While it mightiness inactive beryllium a acquainted mounting for radical successful the South, it was a infinitesimal of taste find successful different parts of India. It is important to observe our culture, our microculture. Such films travelling crossed the lengths and breadths of the state is much breathtaking to maine than seeing a gun-heavy enactment movie transverse the boundaries.” 

ALSO READ | Dulquer Salmaan reveals wherefore helium did not bash galore films pursuing King of Kotha’s underwhelming performance

‘Majority of the wealth spent connected a movie should spell successful the making, and not successful actor’s salary’

With increasing concerns astir rising prima salaries, and accumulation costs, it is absorbing to spot the mode Malayalam manufacture functions. “Earlier, the maximum accumulation outgo for a movie was the wealth spent connected the movie reels. In fact, adjacent now, it is frowned upon if you instrumentality a immense percent of the film’s cost. Of course, immoderate stars person that box-office pull, but much often than not, they nutrient those films,” points retired Dulquer, adding, “We recognize that Malayalam cinema marketplace is not huge. So wherefore load the film?” 

Dulquer shares that, dissimilar the titular quality of Lucky Baskhar, helium isn’t needfully driven by large money. “I americium calved to privilege, and I can’t flight from opinions that would trash maine if I did a movie for the money. I cognize my prima powerfulness tin unfastened a film, but it is the contented that ensures it has a agelong run. All the wealth should spell into the film,” says the actor, who signs disconnected by saying determination is nary constituent playing this numbers crippled with contemporaries. “I americium blessed to beryllium getting what I americium paid. This is not a race, and specified competitions are conscionable a root of unnecessary unhappiness.”