Gulshan Devaiah has a penchant for surprises. If he played a serial killer in Duranga, he became an honest cop in Dahaad. In Raj and DK’s Guns & Gulaabs, he transformed into a hired killer with a knack for hacking off his victims in four deadly moves, and then took on a double role of brothers Karan and Arjun in Bad Cop.
“It is part of my nature and it is also why acting is interesting for me. I can be part of different stories that appeal to different people. This is why I love cinema,” says the actor, who has stepped into the shoes of a dishy Michelin-star chef in his latest film Ulajh.
Directed by Sudhanshu Saria, the spy thriller has Devaiah looking suave as he whips up delectables in a jiffy, but the 46-year-old insists that the role was more than being a wok-and-ladle wielding eye candy. After a whirlwind romance with Kapoor’s Suhana, he starts blackmailing her with a sex tape for confidential intel. “There’s more to the character than what meets the eye,” he says.
Expectedly, most of his scenes in Ulajh are with Kapoor. Saria, however, has mentioned earlier about how different Devaiah and Kapoor are as actors. Is it a challenge working with a co-actor whose process is different from yours? “Only if you don’t understand them or if they are unprofessional. But Janhvi and I had a lot of time to prepare and understand how we work. Her work ethic won me over.
I have tremendous respect for people who put in so much work in their craft and career,” he says. Devaiah stands out not just for the roles he plays, but also in the way he chooses them. As a rule, he has two boxes he must check before greenlighting a script—a genuine interest in his role and the project must be good for his career. The only time he made an exception was for A Death in the Gunj where he was initially considered for Ranvir Shorey’s role. “They wanted me to be a part of the film anyhow, so I agreed to the role I was offered, even though I was not really interested in it.
I went against my grain and did the film because I liked the script and the people associated with it. It would have been stupid to say no,” he recalls.
Coming out of complicated characters is not a long process for Devaiah. “My roles are intense, my process isn’t,” he says. He credits his imagination for the same. “The main criterion is that it should be fun. Even if I’m doing a scene where I’m breaking down, or mourning a loss, it should be creative and that is always fun. I’m not weighed down by the burdens of the character. I don’t think anybody can become someone else; I just want to create an illusion,” he says. Even in-between shots, Devaiah shares, he can be found singing songs or joking around. “After the initial two or three days, I am able to be myself on sets,” he adds.
With steady work—both OTT and theatrical—coming his way, the actor feels this is probably the best phase of his career so far. “Earlier, I was restricted to cinema. Post Duranga in 2022, work has been more consistent. The long format interested me and I wanted to adapt to it,” says the actor, who has several other projects coming up in the space. His film Little Thomas is headed for its world premiere at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.
Theatrical releases, however, have a special place in his heart. “I grew up loving cinema in the feature film format. They affect you deeply and differently because you are solely focussed on them while watching them,” he says. It only gets bigger and better from here.
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