It was director Shyamaprasad who first offered him a role in the film Ritu, after that famous Tamil director N. Linguswamy also offered him a role in his debut Malayalam film. But these were rejected by Salmaan because he felt he had to study the various aspects of cinema in detail before venturing further and for that did a short term course in film.
In 2011, Salmaan signed his friend Srinath Rajendran's debut project Second Show in which he played the role of a gangster.
The film was made by a team of youngsters, all eager to explore the medium. Salman felt he would be more comfortable working with such a team than acting under any of those experienced directors.
In fact, Salman's mediocre launch surprised many even within the industry. When this question was thrown at Mammootty, he said, "I never got a premiere launch in cinema. During those struggling days, I was known as Mammootty, the son of Paanaparambil Ismail. It was only later that my father came to be known through me. Now, Dulquer is known as Mammootty's son. If I am destined to be known as his father, let it be so."
The film Second Show released on February 3, 2012 with a good response from the audience and became a hit and run successfully for more than 75 days across Kerala.
Now he is working with famous hit maker director Anwar Rasheed in the film Ustad Hotel.
