A Telugu-origin director, a period story, and Dulquer Salmaan seems to be a combination that works wonders every time. After Mahanati, and Sita Ramam, will the third time also work the charm, with Dulquer all set to recreate the formula with Venky Atluri’s Lucky Baskhar? “Hopefully, fingers crossed,” says Dulquer as he tours across cities for the promotions of the film.

Dulquer Salmaan Interview for Lucky Baskhar

Dulquer Salmaan is all gearing up for the release of Lucky Baskhar which will be releasing in major south languages and Hindi. With making money as its central theme, Lucky Baskhar revolves around a middle-class man struggling to make ends meet, finding a way to make quick bucks. However, the first thing Dulquer has to say about the film is how the director, Venky Atluri, is fond of Tamil films and has several references in his films. “He is very knowledgeable about Tamil films, and there will be some Annamalai references. But what I liked most is that it is a relatable common man story. At some point, we might have cash flow issues, and in this film too, he faces negative cash flows. I think that is what I liked the most.”

But did he also resonate with making money? “I think that excites everybody. All of us have some conditioning on what is right and wrong. Majority of us won’t do it in real life, and we too are not glorifying this with our film, but somewhere there is entertainment in it.”

Lucky Baskhar is a fictional tale which has been inspired from real-life incidents of the late 80s and early 90s. “But when I heard the story for the first time, it felt like a real story for the way it was been structured. Venky had done a lot of research and there are lot of detailing,” adds Dulquer. However, the makers clarify that the film is not a biopic.

Dulquer acknowledges the trends in his career, how he began doing many NRI roles in the beginning which soon shifted to doing period films, with Lucky Baskhar being the newest addition. “This film will have a grey shade, and I think I have crossed the coming-of-age roles. Now, I don’t have the excuse not finding myself. As actors, I think we like grey shades because you can behave outside of your personality. We all are not angels, but we try to abide by rules.”

The actor says he should be open to exploring any genre, and if anything is repeating, the actor consciously tries to find something genuine with the stories. “I won’t do remakes because I want to fight for great roles.”

“I hate the word pan-Indian”

Dulquer, who has now become a household name across industries, addresses how he might have certain gaps in certain languages for not doing films there. But he also says, “Ideally, I would like to start the film by Monday, and finish on Friday. But that is not how it works. I also have health issues and turning 40s is a real thing.”

The actor, who has so far not dubbed for the trailer of Lucky Baskhar in Tamil, reveals that he is looking at the comments on social media addressing the issue which has got him stressed. “I am going to soon try to dub for Tamil soon amid the promotions.” At the same time, Dulquer says, “I hate the word pan-India, but I am very privileged to be cast in all these films. Somewhere people like seeing familiar places.” He acknowledges that when he started his career, he felt Tamil might be a potential industry to work, given his childhood and at the time of Ustaad Hotel, some potential offers did come from Hindi, but the actor says it was Telugu he never thought of. “The first time I went to Hyderabad was for a Filmfare award. I have not even heard of that language so much during my childhood. But when I got the opportunity, and give the confidence of the makers, I attribute to all the production houses that worked with me.”

Asked about the Malayalam film industry and how stars’ salary might take up a film’s production costs, Dulquer says, “We are a small industry, and no artist can take the remuneration beyond the film costs. Even now, it is frowned upon if you are taking a huge percentage of the film’s cost. Otherwise, we produce it, which is a logical component."

"I am not driven by money and I am born too privileged. If somebody sees me in a bad film, and wonder if I am there for money, especially when I have money. Mentally I chase only content. I think money has to go on screen,” says Dulquer Salmaan, the son of Malayalam megastar Mammootty.

Read Also: Dulquer Salmaan: ‘I want to do 3-4 films a year each in different language’