<p>When Dulquer Salmaan was entering the film industry, the actor says he was fighting a lot of apprehension, partly due to his own insecurities and the pressure of living up to his father and superstar Mammootty's legacy.</p>.<p>Salmaan made his screen debut in 2012 with the crime-thriller <em>Second Show </em>and found massive success the same year with the National Award-winning drama<em> Ustad Hotel</em>.</p>.<p>Over the years, the 35-year-old actor emerged as one of the biggest stars of Malayalam cinema with films like Anjali Menon's <em>Bangalore Days</em>, Sai Pallavi-starrer <em>Kali</em>, <em>Charlie </em>and <em>Kurup</em>, among others.</p>.<p>He also gained widespread acclaim with Mani Ratnam's Tamil romantic-comedy <em>O Kadhal Kanmani </em>and eventually made his Hindi debut with 2018's<em> Karwaan,</em> which starred Irrfan Khan.</p>.<p>In an interview with PTI, Salmaan said in his decade-old journey in the industry he had initially put a lot of pressure on himself to live up to his father's name.</p>.<p>"I didn't know if I would make it, I didn't know if I would survive, if people would accept me. I had a lot of apprehensions when I was coming to the industry. When you are in your 20s, you have all these fears and insecurities. I was stepping into my dad's shoes. Forget me, I don't think anyone can challenge or replace him.</p>.<p>"I used to feel quite under pressure because of that. Not that I had to be as good as him, but I didn't want to embarrass him in any way or spoil that legacy. So I used to put a lot of pressure on myself over these things, I spent a lot of years like that, taking every step carefully," the actor said.</p>.<p>Salmaan said he grew out of that pressure "organically" and credited the films that came his way for making him an assured artiste.</p>.<p>"It was destiny or divine intervention that I got some great films quite early in my career. I got to collaborate with some great directors. I got offers from other languages too and I knew these were solid films, so I tried that as well. That helped me," he added.</p>.<p>Though Salmaan started with Malayalam films, he soon moved to the Tamil industry with films like <em>Vaayai Moodi Pesavum</em>, <em>O Kadhal Kanmani </em>and made his debut in Telugu with the 2018 drama <em>Mahanati</em>, in which he played veteran star Gemini Ganesan.</p>.<p>He had his second Bollywood release in 2019 with The <em>Zoya Factor</em> opposite actor Sonam Kapoor.</p>.<p>None of this expansion to other language industries, Salmaan said, was by design.</p>.<p>"People ask me if it was a conscious choice to do films in several languages so that I become a 'pan-India' actor, but no. Just as anyone of my generation, I look for experiences. My desire was just that. I love it when I do films in Tamil, Telugu or Hindi and get to be a part of that. It has been organic and not part of some plan," he added.</p>.<p>What, however, has been a definite plan is his attempt to frequently jump genres, he said.</p>.<p>From Malayalam crime thriller <em>Kurup</em>, Tamil romantic-comedy <em>Hey Sinamika </em>and his latest SonyLIV procedural drama <em>Salute </em>(Malayalam), Salmaan's last three films alone have been diverse.</p>.<p>The actor said he is aware that his critics feel he is comfortable in the romance genre, a stereotype he wants to consciously break.</p>.<p>"A lot of the time, people want to put you in a box. I read comments from my critics and the so-called haters that say, 'Oh he always does romantic-comedies, romantic characters or he can only do one thing'. I take it constructively and think, 'I won't do just one type of film, I will show you'.</p>.<p>"If you keep surprising the audience, you will be respected. As actors, you want to live different lives through your characters. As an actor, I am aware and conscious of my lineup, I want each film to be different from the other. I genuinely want to have a great portfolio of films," he added.</p>.<p>The actor will be next seen in filmmaker R Balki's <em>Chup: Revenge Of The Artist </em>and director duo Raj & DK's Netflix series<em> Guns & Gulaabs,</em> also featuring Rajkummar Rao and Adarsh Gourav.</p>
<p>When Dulquer Salmaan was entering the film industry, the actor says he was fighting a lot of apprehension, partly due to his own insecurities and the pressure of living up to his father and superstar Mammootty's legacy.</p>.<p>Salmaan made his screen debut in 2012 with the crime-thriller <em>Second Show </em>and found massive success the same year with the National Award-winning drama<em> Ustad Hotel</em>.</p>.<p>Over the years, the 35-year-old actor emerged as one of the biggest stars of Malayalam cinema with films like Anjali Menon's <em>Bangalore Days</em>, Sai Pallavi-starrer <em>Kali</em>, <em>Charlie </em>and <em>Kurup</em>, among others.</p>.<p>He also gained widespread acclaim with Mani Ratnam's Tamil romantic-comedy <em>O Kadhal Kanmani </em>and eventually made his Hindi debut with 2018's<em> Karwaan,</em> which starred Irrfan Khan.</p>.<p>In an interview with PTI, Salmaan said in his decade-old journey in the industry he had initially put a lot of pressure on himself to live up to his father's name.</p>.<p>"I didn't know if I would make it, I didn't know if I would survive, if people would accept me. I had a lot of apprehensions when I was coming to the industry. When you are in your 20s, you have all these fears and insecurities. I was stepping into my dad's shoes. Forget me, I don't think anyone can challenge or replace him.</p>.<p>"I used to feel quite under pressure because of that. Not that I had to be as good as him, but I didn't want to embarrass him in any way or spoil that legacy. So I used to put a lot of pressure on myself over these things, I spent a lot of years like that, taking every step carefully," the actor said.</p>.<p>Salmaan said he grew out of that pressure "organically" and credited the films that came his way for making him an assured artiste.</p>.<p>"It was destiny or divine intervention that I got some great films quite early in my career. I got to collaborate with some great directors. I got offers from other languages too and I knew these were solid films, so I tried that as well. That helped me," he added.</p>.<p>Though Salmaan started with Malayalam films, he soon moved to the Tamil industry with films like <em>Vaayai Moodi Pesavum</em>, <em>O Kadhal Kanmani </em>and made his debut in Telugu with the 2018 drama <em>Mahanati</em>, in which he played veteran star Gemini Ganesan.</p>.<p>He had his second Bollywood release in 2019 with The <em>Zoya Factor</em> opposite actor Sonam Kapoor.</p>.<p>None of this expansion to other language industries, Salmaan said, was by design.</p>.<p>"People ask me if it was a conscious choice to do films in several languages so that I become a 'pan-India' actor, but no. Just as anyone of my generation, I look for experiences. My desire was just that. I love it when I do films in Tamil, Telugu or Hindi and get to be a part of that. It has been organic and not part of some plan," he added.</p>.<p>What, however, has been a definite plan is his attempt to frequently jump genres, he said.</p>.<p>From Malayalam crime thriller <em>Kurup</em>, Tamil romantic-comedy <em>Hey Sinamika </em>and his latest SonyLIV procedural drama <em>Salute </em>(Malayalam), Salmaan's last three films alone have been diverse.</p>.<p>The actor said he is aware that his critics feel he is comfortable in the romance genre, a stereotype he wants to consciously break.</p>.<p>"A lot of the time, people want to put you in a box. I read comments from my critics and the so-called haters that say, 'Oh he always does romantic-comedies, romantic characters or he can only do one thing'. I take it constructively and think, 'I won't do just one type of film, I will show you'.</p>.<p>"If you keep surprising the audience, you will be respected. As actors, you want to live different lives through your characters. As an actor, I am aware and conscious of my lineup, I want each film to be different from the other. I genuinely want to have a great portfolio of films," he added.</p>.<p>The actor will be next seen in filmmaker R Balki's <em>Chup: Revenge Of The Artist </em>and director duo Raj & DK's Netflix series<em> Guns & Gulaabs,</em> also featuring Rajkummar Rao and Adarsh Gourav.</p>