Dulquer Salmaan, whose 42nd birthday it is today, is one of Malayalam cinema’s highest paid actors. He started out in 2012 after studying acting with Barry John. But the South heartthrob who makes female fans go weak in the knees, never managed to make a big splash in Bollywood. He’s made just three Hindi films so far. ‘Karwaan’ in 2918, ‘The Zoya Factor’ in 2019, and ‘Chup: The Artist’s Revenge’ in 2022 that got lost in Covid.

Of these three films, DQ (as he likes to be called) stood out in ‘The Zoya Factor’ because he was paired opposite Sonam Kapoor. And they are both fashionable people. The film was about superstitions. And DQ admitted he was superstitious. He always stops when a black cat crosses his path. Why? Because once in the US he was slapped with a traffic violation and stung with a huge fine for not stopping his car when a black cat crossed the road!

Just as in Bollywood, South has its own demons of nepotism to deal with. And DQ, being Malayalam screen god Mammootty’s son, is branded as a nepo kid. When he found the going tough in Mollywood, where there were equally talented actors, he started cherry-picking roles in Tollywood and Kollywood and quickly carved a place for himself in the fans of Telugu and Tamil cinema. As a birthday treat to his fans, DQ is releasing the teaser of his imminent biopic ‘Kaantha’ today. It is based on Tamil cinema icon M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. Peeping Moon wishes DQ a Happy Birthday!