Dulquer Salmaan has emerged as one of the most dynamic faces of Indian cinema, thanks to a string of romances, comedies, and human dramas in Malayalam (and occasionally in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu). If you too are a fan of the Bangalore Days and Ustad Hotel star, we’ve got you covered with the definitive ranking of Salmaan’s best movies along with a guide to stream them all.
Where can you stream Dulquer Salmaan’s filmography?
Prime Video, Netflix, ZEE5, Lionsgate Play, Aha, and Manaroma MAX are abundant in Dulquer Salmaan’s finest movies. His streaming series debut Guns & Gulaabs is a Netflix original.
Dulquer Salmaan’s Early Beginnings
The youngest son of Malayalam cinema legend Mammootty, Salmaan didn’t instantly walk in the same path as his actor father. Instead, his initial plans were to pursue business management in Dubai following which he enrolled in a three-month-long acting course in Mumbai. The rest, as they say, is history.
The year 2012 marked Salmaan’s acting debut with the action crime drama Second Show in which he played a reformed gangster seeking revenge for his friend’s death. The Malayalam film polarised critics even though it was a commercial success with Salmaan drawing praise as its lead.
Breakout with Ustad Hotel, Bangalore Days and More
In the same year as his debut performance, Salmaan starred in the now-cult favourite Ustad Hotel. The Anwar Rasheed-directed drama is a heartwarming coming-of-age tale with Salmaan playing an aspiring chef who fights against his father’s wishes while being stuck at his grandfather’s hotel.
The movie was a notable highlight for Salmaan’s dramatic prowess and charismatic range, paving the way for future hits like Bangalore Days (2014) and O Kadhal Kanmani (2015). The former was another coming-of-age romance following a cousin trio exploring their dreams and aspirations in the titular city of Bangalore.
The latter was a Tamil romantic drama by auteur Mani Ratnam, exploring marriage and urban love from a new-age perspective. O Kadhal Kanmani proved Salmaan’s effortless charm as a self-reflective romantic lead, his on-screen chemistry with Nithya Menen was grounded in reality and filled with wholesome moments.
Transition to action and adventure with Charlie, Kali, and Kurup
While Salmaan built on his initial fame as a romantic hero, it didn’t take him much time to experiment with other genres. For instance, he played a carefree vagabond in the adventure drama Charlie (2015) while the very next year, he flirted with the action genre with Kali (2016). The latter starred him as a short-tempered man whose life turns awry after a run-in with a gangster.
He also raised eyebrows with his performance as late Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan in the biopic Mahanati (2018), a Telugu-language exploration of the life of actress Savitra (also Gemini’s wife). Among his post-pandemic projects, Salmaan ambitiously took on another biopic Kurup that had him playing the titular gangster, a man on the run after killing a person for life insurance fraud.
Karwaan, Chup and a Netflix show: Salmaan’s occasional Hindi projects
Apart from the Malayalam actor’s occasional forays into Tamil (O Kadhal Kanmani) and Telugu (Mahanati), Salman has also made a few memorable Bollywood appearances. His Hindi-language debut was opposite Irrfan Khan in the slice-of-life road comedy Karwaan, followed by a psychological thriller Chup. Salmaan’s performance as a violent artist targeting a critic was a notable effort in the hero breaking typecast.
He also made his streaming debut in the Hindi-language ‘90s-era noir Guns & Gulaabs, playing a cop who changes colours and morals with chameleon-like versatility.
Why is Sita Ramam Dulquer Salmaan’s best movie?
The period romantic drama Sita Ramam featured career-defining performances from Salmaan, Mrunal Thakur, and Rashmika Mandanna. The heartwarming tale of Salmaan’s orphaned soldier receiving letters from an anonymous lover makes for an emotional tearjerker of a movie.
