SUNDAY POST FEB 1-7
PIYUSH ROY
‘Who are you a fan of?’ – is a question every film critic hopes to never have to answer in public. If one declares one’s preference then his/her reviews and ratings of the films of that actor would immediately be suspect irrespective of the merits. If one doesn’t then he/she seems to be too detached, bookish, unconnected, even out-of-sync to be seriously taken by a reader… One cannot be engaged in a career around watching movies and not be touched by its passions. Hence the safe bet is to always list veteran or out-of-work legends as favourites as they hardly would be doing any new films for review.
My favourites are Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha and Waheeda Rehman. Actually, I am kind of a fan of theirs, though favourites are many. So what is it like being a fan? You watch your favourite actor’s every new release, irrespective of whether or not he or she is the lead star in it. Their length of role in a film is inconsequential; it is the joys of just watching them perform that’s enough to get you to the theatres. Salman Khan’s legions of fans will subscribe to living that emotion, though I have watched most of his recent films(exception Dabangg 1 & 2) as a job than as recreation.
These ramblings however were abruptly cut short, when I was categorically asked, ‘Aren’t you a fan of any actor from the current lot?’ Well, if it means actively seeking to watch the next release of any of the newbies without being affected by the buzz around its worth then perhaps it would be Ranbir Kapoor. He’s a favourite actor, but I am yet to be a fan of him!
I won’t just watch every film he does. And, I don’t make any extra effort to watch any of his films that I miss. That affection at the moment is reserved for only one newcomer actor, Dulquer Salmaan, a rising star of Malayalam cinema. He debuted in 2012, and has done 13 films since. I was introduced to his work from his second film, one of Malayalam cinema’s biggest blockbusters, Usthad Hotel(2012) which picked a few awards at the 60th Indian National Film Awards.
It was a fun film with a message told in an interesting premise of cooking. Its theme reworked an old idea with a contemporary treatment in a new environment, through the journey of a very conventional protagonist character, made memorable by the sheerpresence of its young lead actor.
In his natural nuances, signature charms, personality’s delights, was that unstated spark, a something that immediately connected…
Since them I have tried to catch up with most of Dulquer’s work, old and new. And I am both amazed and impressed by the diversity in his roles, and the variety of themes of the films, in which happened those roles. His debut role was that of a gangster, in his third he played a musician with grey shades, but it’s the chocolate hero space that he seems to have come to inhabit as of now.
Yet, there is an edge to him that I don’t find in his Bollywood counterparts. He doesn’t have any six packs, neither does he display his body or do abnormal superhuman like feats. He is a star son, yet he looks normal and common, because he behaves as one and speaks conversational dialogues… Even if they were great dialogues, their impact in Malayalam is anyways lost on me in their English translation. Yet, his interpretations elicit a reaction.
Memorable conversations, unusual journeys or conventional journeys told in a fresh manner – that’s the attract of his films, most of which are not potential classics or entertainers of the calibre of an Usthad Hotel.
For instance, his Neelakasham Pacha Kadal Choovana Bhoomi (Blue Skies Green Waters Red Earth, 2013), is a story of love interrupted, between a Muslim Malayali boy and a Christian girl from Nagaland, both students in a Kerala Engineering College. But the focus is not on how their different religions or diverse ethnic backgrounds play villain but the boy undertaking a road trip from Kerala to Nagaland through some interesting, life changing experiences on the road in the forests of Andhra Pradesh, the beaches off Puri, a Bengal village and the Assam highway ending at Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival.
Dulquer’s first bilingual, Samsaram Arogyathinu Hanikaram (Speaking is injurious to Health, 2014), whose ‘hit’ Tamil version marks his entry into Tamil cinema, is too a love story between a shy doctor and her talkative patient that’s developed in the backdrop of a unique dramatic pause – a ban on speaking for all inhabitants in his town. His latest, Bangalore Days (2014), another exploration of what holds the IT-City’s floating youngsters, has him playing a handsome urban adventure seeking rebel fall head-over-heels in love with a physically disabled girl. It is the first Malayalam film to commercially release with English subtitles in the theatres, has now made him a hit in Karnataka. Should Bollywood be the next?
Hope not!
What I like about the actor is his confidence that makes even his falls endearing. In Anju Sundarikal (5 Beautiful Women, 2013), a collection of five short stories revolving on female characters from different age groups, he’s just a narrator and an observer on a wheel chair appearing in one of its five stories. Can any Bollywood superstar aspirant show that courage to let go in an ensemble film, content with the quality of a part not the quantity of it? Look at the films of every major male Bollywood debutant in the last two years and you will find everybody attempting to do everything possible in his every film – romance, fights, dance, dialoguebaazi… – irrespective of whether these attributes suit their personality or character. Why? That’s how the Mumbai system works and that’s why I said ‘hope not’ for a possible Bollywood calling for Dulquer!
Dulquer is Malayalam superstar Mammootty’s son but his father is yet to star or do guest appearances in any film featuring Dulquer, or promote him actively. He seems to have almost let him be, find his own space and image like his on screen father in the film ABCD (2013), not as the clone of a superstar father or mother. That’s perhaps Malayalam film industry’s work culture– inspiring work both in the popular and parallel streams has always been Mammootty’s forte.
Moreover, talking personalities, dad and son seem chalk and cheese apart. Dulquer however has so far limited his associations to mostly debuting directors. It’s time he tied up with the veterans in the industry as well to explore tougher characterisations beyond complimenting images.
So far his charming presence and adequate cuteness have been more than making up for his few and far between lacunae, but an actor has to outgrow his comfort zones to grow as a performer. Perhaps the time is right for a Bollywood Calling…