On Dulquer Salmaan’s 35th birthday, here are six lesser-known facts about the Kurup star

As Dulquer Salmaan turns 35, we look at the life and career of the actor who may not have had to struggle to land his first film — he is after all the son of one of India’s most celebrated movie stars, Mammootty — but managed to step out from the shadow of his father and carve his own identity. He stands tall as a star entirely on his own merit and strengths today. The actor is not only known to fans of Malayalam cinema but is a household name across the country.

Here are the few lesser-known facts of Dulquer Salmaan:

Acting was not Dulquer Salmaan’s dream career

Dulquer Salmaan wanted to steer clear of the film industry when he was young. And who can blame him as he may have felt intimidated by the fact that his performance would always be compared with his super successful father, who is a three-time National Award-winning superstar, Mammootty. So he focused on his studies and got a degree in business management from Purdue University. However, he soon finds out that he was not cut out for a 9-to-5 job. For him, life was becoming a little monotonous. So he decided to take the plunge into the film industry anyway.

Dulquer Salmaan was warned against it

After Dulquer Salmaan decided to follow in his father’s footsteps, his mother Sulfath Kutty was moved to caution him not to expect to find the same kind of success as his father. That explains why Dulquer chooses not to make a big spectacle out of his debut film, Second Show. He wanted to see how it went, without receiving any support from his superstar father. So he joined director Srinath Rajendran’s team, where the majority were newcomers. The film became a hit and Dulquer never looked back.

Dulquer Salmaan tied the knot before his film debut

It was Mammootty who advised Dulquer Salmaan to get married before he entered the film industry. Mammootty is believed to have cited the example of his own life to underscore the importance of getting married early. Mammootty apparently told Dulquer that marriage will bring “stability and focus” in an individual’s life. And at the age of 25, Dulquer married Amal Sufiya with his parents’ blessings.

Dulquer Salmaan and Amal Sufiya were school mates

“It is a bit of love and arranged. I think when you get to a certain age, your family will start to pressure you to get married. And they will start looking for you and whatnot. My wife and I actually went to the same school and she was my junior. I didn’t know her in school. When I finished college, she was in her final year at architectural school. So people kind of started suggesting that we should probably meet and get to know each other as we have so much in common. So I kinda started doing something about it. Got in touch with her and then the parents met. I had a good mix of love and arranged,” Dulquer Salmaan had told indianexpress.com earlier while talking about his marriage. The couple has a daughter named Maryam.

Dulquer Salmaan and Amal Sufiya (Source: Dulquer Salmaan/Instagram)

Dulquer Salmaan is crazy about cars:

Dulquer Salmaan is a known automobile enthusiast. He is known to have a rich collection of luxury cars in his garage. As per reports, his collection includes the likes of Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Ferrari 458 Spider, BMW X6 M, and Porsche Panamera Turbo.

Dulquer Salmaan’s business affairs

While Dulquer Salmaan is yet to collaborate with his father Mammootty in movies, they both run a business together. They are the directors at Rhea Healthcare, a chain of mother and child care centres under the umbrella name “Motherhood.” He also holds interests in the dental business chain based in Chennai and a web portal that facilitates car trading.