Dulquer Salmaan opens up on North vs South debate, says 'it's just Indian cinema' | Exclusive

Dulquer Salmaan will be seen next in R Balki's Chup: Revenge of the Artist. In an exclusive chat with IndiaToday.in, the actor opened up about doing pan India films.

Dulquer Salmaan is now spreading his charm in Bollywood after winning hearts in the South cinema. He will be seen next in R Balki's directorial venture Chup, which will drop in the theatres on September 23. The upcoming romantic psychological thriller depicts the pain of an artist who suffers from bad criticism and negative reviews. In an exclusive chat with IndiaToday.in, Dulquer Salmaan opened up about doing pan India films.

Weighing in on the North versus South debate and doing pan India films, Dulquer Salmaan said, "I am not a huge fan of this word pan India. I think it's just Indian cinema. There are some films which are not limited to just one region. Some of them tell very Indian stories like Sita Ramam. Everyone must know someone serving in the Indian Army so Sita Ramam has those elements. It stays true to the Indian elements. But I am not the one to believe that every film I make will work across India every time. Some are purely good to one region and language. But I love that there is so much exchange of talent happening. It used to happen earlier too but now, there is more visibility. We are all more aware of each other. Even historically, there has been so many actors working across industry but now things have changed, there is more recall value. People also watched me on OTT during lockdown so I think that is also one reason why they know me so well."

Dulquer Salmaan opened up about getting negative and harsh reviews for his films. He said, "I have often read a lot of nasty things about myself in reviews. People have even written that I should quit movies, and I am not made for it. It's usually the same thing that I shouldn't be here. This is not my calling. It's really harsh."

Dulquer Salmaan is an actor, playback singer and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films. He has also appeared in Telugu and Hindi films. In 2011, Salmaan signed debutante Srinath Rajendran's Second Show (2012), in which he played the role of Harilal, a gangster. Salmaan next starred in Anwar Rasheed's Ustad Hotel (2012). The actor has, since, climbed the ladder of success and fame in the industry one movie at a time across various languages.

Others headlining the power-packed cast of Chup are Sunny Deol, Shreya Dhanwanthary, who made a mark for herself with Scam: 1992, and Pooja Bhatt, who recently made a massive comeback with Bombay Begums. Chup is written and directed by R. Balki. Chup is scheduled to be released on September 23, 2022. Dr Jayantilal Gada (Pen Studios) presents the film and all India distribution is by Pen Marudhar. Cinematographer Vishal Sinha and music directors Amit Trivedi, Sneha Khanvilkar and Aman Pant are part of the crew. Pranab Kapadia and Anirudh Sharma are co-producers of the film.