My primary focus will be Malayalam films: Dulquer Salmaan

Dulquer Salmaan is being lauded for playing the role of a man who initially gives up his passion for his father's wish in the recently released Hindi film, Karwaan. While there is yet another Hindi film in the pipeline, the actor says Malayalam cinema will always be his primary focus and that he is not actively pursuing films in other languages.

After his acting debut in the 2012 Malayalam film, Second Show, he starred in several films in his native language and then dabbled in Tamil, Telugu and now Hindi.

"Whenever offers come my way, if I connect with it then I am completely open to it. I will choose from the scripts I get and take a call irrespective of the language," says Dulquer.

While the love of movie buffs for his work in Karwaan can be seen on social media, some have pointed out that he took a safe route into Bollywood. "People are trying to take the debut angle out of it. For me, there was already a challenge in the language. Also, I think the character was interesting enough to have shades. I have definitely played more complicated characters, but that's not my primary criteria. When Karwaan came my way, I connected with it and I liked it," he says.

Dulquer also believes he is not entitled to a big debut in any language simply because his father is Malayalam superstar Mammootty. Talking about his father's response to Karwaan, Dulquer says, "My dad doesn't give me too much feedback after watching my films. I am sure he enjoyed it."

The actor, who basking in the success of Karwaan, will next be seen in the film adaptation of Anuja Chauhan's 2008 novel The Zoya Factor. It tells the tale of a Rajput girl, Zoya Solanki, who meets the Indian Cricket Team through her job as an executive in an advertising agency and ends up becoming a lucky charm for the team in the 2010 Cricket World Cup. 

There are reports that Dulquer might be playing cricket star Virat Kohli in the Sonam Kapoor-starrer. Asked about this, he says, "The book was written a long time back. I don't think it is based on anyone in particular. It is fiction."

He adds that to "tackle the cricket angle" in the film, he needs to prepare accordingly and look convincing. The shooting for the film is set to begin by the end of August.