Bangalore boy and actor Gulshan Devaiah of Shaitan fame tied the knot with Greek beauty Kallirroi Tziafeta in a quiet ceremony
The Kodava community has been claiming a Greek connection for centuries. Firmly reaffirming the heritage was Kodava boy Gulshan Devaiah who recently tied the knot with long-time girlfriend and actress Kallirroi Tziafeta. Gulshan has been making waves in Bollywood — first with Rohan Sippy film Dum Maro Dum, followed by Bejoy Nambiar’s Shaitan and Anurag Kashyap’s That Girl in Yellow Boots and was nominated for best supporting role and best actor in a negative role by various film awards this year, including the Film Fare award. The two met nearly two years ago — quite by chance — when Kallirroi, who studied acting at London International School of Performing Arts, came to India to meet friends and bumped into Gulshan, who was working on a play with Rajat Kapoor. In an earlier interview to this writer, Gulshan said that there were no instant sparks and that it took a couple of days for the duo to start chatting with each other. “I was ill when I met her, it was only later that we got chatting and we realised that we really really liked each other. We’re really serious and will get married sooner or later.” It turns out that Kalliroi, originally from Greece, soon moved to Mumbai. She has acted in several theatre productions in Mumbai, including Nostalgia Brand Chewing Gum, directed by Bangalore-based director Vivek Madan and performed in Jagriti a year ago.
The wedding hasn’t been a secret, but there’s been no publicity blitzkrieg either. In keeping with Gulshan’s low-profile image, the ceremony was attended only by close friends and family. For Kalliroi and her family, the tragic events unfolding in Greece (rioting and arson after austerity measures were introduced to combat the crumbling economy) were offset by the joy of being part of an authentic Indian wedding. The venue was a Kalyana mantapa in Bangalore (North) and the wedding had the Kodava community of Bangalore in attendance.
Gulshan was dressed in authentic Kodava wedding costume, including the headgear and black jacket. The cynosure of all eyes at the wedding, however, was the bride, dressed in bright red sari, in Coorgi attire. What’s more, Kallirroi had nearly 20 of her relatives who had specially flown down from Greece to be part of the joyous occasion. Friends said that among her relatives was her 85-year-old grandmother. Cousins, aunts and even Kallirroi’s mother wore Indian outfits.
Actress Kalki Koechlin took part in the wedding with her family. The only close friends Gulshan had with him at the wedding were his designer friends from NIFT and his theatre friends from Bangalore and Mumbai. If the wedding was a traditional affair with banana stalks being cut and pots balanced on the head of the bride, the post-wedding party was an informal affair with Gulshan dressed in designer black, waist coat, black shirt and trousers while Kallirroi chose a short black and beige dress. Kalki, friends and music composer Naren Chandavarkar played hosts at the party and ensured that everyone had a good time.
As for the thousands of women, who voted for Gulshan as one of the most eligible bachelors in an online poll last year, eat your hearts out for he’s now taken.
source: http://www.BangaloreMirror.com / Bangalore / Home> Entertainment> South Masala> Story / Thursday, February 16th, 2012
