In his films, he is always the not-so-regular guy. In real life, he doesn’t speak in a diplomatic manner unlike other Bollywood actors. Gulshan Devaiah has a theory about his tribe too. “People who choose to become actors are somewhere insecure about themselves,” he says. He candidly shares a recurring personal childhood dream which gives an insight into his own insecurity. “I used to have this dream, where I am waiting for the school bus and when the bus arrives, I realise I have no pants on,” he says. Over the years he has learnt to get a grip on his insecurity and focus only on the acting. “I have learnt things. Hopefully I am wiser now. I am not as insecure as I used to be when I was 18 years old,” says the 35-year-old actor.
Currently on a career high post Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram- Leela, Devaiah is now looking forward to his forthcoming film Hunter, which is the directorial debut of Harshavardhan Kulkarni, who wrote Hasee Toh Phasee. Devaiah plays a sex addict in the film and it’s turning out to be quite a trip. “I play this ordinary sort of a character, something like what Amol Palekar used to play. He’s even more ordinary in the sense that Amol Palekar used to sing songs but this guy doesn’t even do that. He’s not a head turner at all but he likes to sleep with women. He is sort of a sex addict. He can’t give up his urge even after he gets married. It’s like nicotine. He wants to be loyal, but he gets this khujli. Hunter deals with this subject but treats it in a lighthearted manner,” he says.
There’s another film that he’s deeply invested in — Vasan Bala’s Peddlers, which went to the Cannes Film Festival in 2012, but is yet to see a cinema release in India. “Peddlers is my most intense performance,” says Devaiah. He will also be seen in Pooja Bhatt’s Cabaret and a horror film.
His priorities as an actor are clear — he selects roles based on his instinct but one thing he is very clear about — no television. “I have nothing against TV actors, but the only reason I don’t do TV is because I think it’s really boring. I can’t do it for the money,” he says. Even the idea of doing commercials doesn’t excite him. “I can’t do commercials. I used to get offers. Now they have stopped calling me also because they know I am going to say no,” he says.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Entertainment> Play / by Ranjib Mazuder / Mumbai – April 18th, 2014
