Gulshan Devaiah’s unscripted journey to success

I studied at Cluny Convent, Jalahalli, and the teachers and nuns there discovered I had an aptitude for the stage. Despite being working professionals, my mother Pushpa Devaiah enjoyed truly theatre and was active until she developed arthritis, while my father, KA Devaiah, was deeply involved in music. So I grew up around rehearsals, and though I was a shy child, I felt free when I was on stage. Later, I felt I should pursue acting and auditioned for Forum Three. I did my very first play with them almost two decades ago, which marked my association with them.

You also have a unique name, one that grabs attention.

My parents were huge Hindi film music buffs. They would sing or play music all the time and also had books with lyrics. In 1978 a Rishi Kapoor film, Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan, released in June, I was born in May and they randomly named me Gulshan (laughs). But, I am also named after the lyricist Gulshan Bawra. I had no surname for a long time, and took on my father’s name, Devaiah, when I had to apply for a passport.

How did theatre help you as an actor? 

Acting is a craft that needs to be developed and polished. For this, you have to have an aptitude and access to knowledge. I couldn’t go to a drama school and NSD was out of reach for me. I had no courage to tell my parents I wanted to be an actor without training. Hence, I took to theatre and the more I acted, the more I realised there is an approach to every role.

The way you stand, use your voice or imagination – all come into play. When I got a chance to work with Forum Three, I attended workshops and gave it my best. You also learn from seniors and it became the guide for me to understand the crafts, which did not happen overnight; it took years. I also want to clear the misconception that if you do theatre, you are a better actor. That is not how it is — it is about how well you learn and develop the craft.

Your film career began with Anurag Kashyap and That Girl In Yellow Boots’ international recognition. How has he influenced your film choices? 

Anurag gave me a great opportunity and he was at the peak of his career at the time. Not only was I in the right place at the right time, but he also put a lot of trust in me as an actor. He will not tell you what to do, but working with him is like ‘I chose you for a role, now it’s your responsibility to take this and make something out of it’.

It is rare for anyone to have that sort of confidence in you for your debut role. Working with him was rather comfortable though I was stressed about my first role. Kannada was not supposed to be in the film, but as I played a Kannadiga, I improvised and the language was added to the role. It was a fantastic chance which created more opportunities for me.

Would your career have taken a different trajectory had it started off with a Karan Johar film?

I need some imagination to answer this one as it’s quite speculative. My influences were Naseeruddin Shah, Manoj Bajpai, Irrfan Khan, and our idea of what a leading man was not the quintessential one, but more like a character leading man.  

But having said that, being a Karan Johar hero is a big accomplishment, and if I was offered a role in his film, I would gladly accept it. I never thought of myself as a Karan Johar hero, but if I do get a chance, I will not decline it. I also never saw myself in a Bhansali film, but I was and I embraced it. Besides, when Karan Johar launches you, you grab eyeballs. It would have been a huge advantage. One can never deny that because just getting noticed in this line of work is pretty challenging.

Were you ever bogged down by the requirement of chiselled good looks and six pack abs the job normally demands?

This used to be a trend, and at one point, everyone looked alike — trendy haircuts and tight clothes that accentuated their chest and biceps. I am not taunting anyone; this was only my observation and I told myself I would not take that route, though I do enjoy gymming.

Very early on, in my theatre days, a senior told me an actor should have a neutral body type, so he or she can transform to be anything on screen. Being hugely built, at times gets in the way of your character portrayal. Also, I was 30 when I began auditioning, so these ideas were already formed in my head and helped me stand out.

Why do talented differently-abled Indian actors struggle to even get a chance on screen? If they do, they are reduced to silly comedy. What do you feel about inclusion in the world of cinema?

I don’t think we have even realised that we can write diverse kinds of roles. I was working on a project and the director said he wanted my character to be a diabetic. I was excited and asked how it would impact the story? And his response was, ‘Nothing’. My being a diabetic was not going to impact the story in any way. We have diabetics who are cricketers, drivers, teachers. My character had to take insulin shots, which was shown on screen too. 

This is a creative space that not many people are exploring as reality is quite different. For instance, I walked into a bank and met a manager who was wearing braces on his legs. They work and live normally as everyone else. Just as we are a part of society, so are they, and this has to be done on screen too. 

When we think of it as inclusion, I think we are under pressure as to how we depict them — will we be fair and so on. But once we normalise it and use creative tools, instead of representation, with creative writing we can make it normal and create stories. Isn’t that the type of society we want? Change of perception may help.