EXCLUSIVE: Gulshan Devaiah Speaks On 'Dahaad' Success, Says 'I Keep Rowing Over An Endless River'

Gulshan Devaiah, who essayed the role of SHO Devi Lal in 'Dahaad' and acted as a binding agent that kept all the characters in sync with each other, shares his experience on the show and much more.

Gulshan Devaiah Speaks On 'Dahaad' Success

Source : @gulshandevaiah78/instagram.

New Delhi: Sonakshi Sinha, Vijay Varma, Sohum Shah and Gulshan Devaiah starrer 'Dahaad' is earning accolades from all corners for its concept and stellar performance by its cast. The crime thriller cop drama, directed by Reema Kagti, is being hailed for its storyline that is laden with nuances dealing with various issues in the society, going on in the background with the main focus being on the gruesome crime that the series is based on. 

In an exclusive interview with ABP Live, 'Dahaad' actors Gulshan Devaiah, Vijay Varma and Sohum Shah, shared their experience on being part of the crime thriller, the response that they received from the audience and their preparation for their characters.

Beginning with Gulshan Devaiah, who essayed the role of SHO Devi Lal in 'Dahaad' and acted as a binding agent that kept all the characters in sync with each other, here are excerpts from the interview:

Your character in Dahaad is completely different from the ones you have portrayed in the past. You were a different person altogether. Where did you take motivation from essaying a character as humane as Devi Lal?

An idea occured to me in the beginning that a cop is a job and not a personality. Sometimes as actors, we get a little carried away as we romanticise the idea of being in uniform and playing a cop. So, that kind of influences the decisions we make as actors as to how we play it, the body language and everything, so I became a little conscious of that. I first wanted to understand who Devi Lal is as a person. Being a cop is his job but as a person, he is an average guy with an average education and family. He is an honest guy who tries to do what's the right thing. He is a mild man, fairly balanced, who loves his family and his children. He feels that his daughter should not suffer at the hands of societal customs and pressures and should be able to do what she wants to do. So, he is a good father. Devi might not be a very good cop but he is a good administrator, he is the glue that keeps them all together and manages everyone. Once I got all of it from the script, it was just me trying to be as consistent as possible. I resisted the temptation of portraying a character with bulging muscles and opted for a lean cop who is very agile. The best compliment that I got for my character was from my co-actor Sohum Shah who said, "Devi Lal Cheetah hai Cheetah."

If not Devi Lal, then which character would have piqued your interest?

See the natural choice everyone would have said is Anand Swarnakar (played by Vijay Varma). Because the kind of roles that people appreciated of mine are all slightly on the darker side so it would have made perfect sense. But in hind sight, I would have liked to see what my take would have been for Kailash Parghi. Sohum brought a certain humanity to it, certain layering and some comedy which I think didn't existed, but he made it kind of funny also. I was very surprised and impressed with what he did to his part and has a very wonderful character arch also. So if not Devi Lal, then maybe, Kailash Parghi.

How was your experience working with Sonakshi, Vijay and Sohum?

Vijay is a fine actor, one of the finest I have come across. We got along however Sohum needed a little coaxing. Me, Sonakshi and Vijay would always be in the common area but Sohum would never come out of his "gufa", he is a bit shy so we had to bring him out. He is a funny guy and I was given the job to drag him out. Once, I remember Vijay forgot his cue, he forgot his dialogue and I was trying to prompt him and suddenly I realised that the camera is on me and not on him, and I can't really prompt him. I was not trying not to break character also so it got hilarious.

Tell us a little about your character in your recently released film '8am Metro.'

He is a loner. He is socially very awkward, very mild mannered soft-spoken man who has a bank job. There is some sadness to him. It seems like there is a reason to his loneliness. But he is a lover of literature and poetry. He spends most of his time in books. He is not very well-groomed but he is not shabby either, but there is certain disheveledness to him also, which sometimes lonely people who are struggling with something, tend to be like. That's Pritam from 8AM Metro.

Do you think the film would receive better reception if it released on OTT and not in theatres?

I don't know. I like the fact that it's in the theatres. I am not particularly disappointed that it's not going to be one of those films which will rake in the money. It was always difficult to release in theatres. The business model of theatrical release has always been very difficult to crack. However, there is no competition in entertainment now, as people have other avenues where they can watch interesting stories. But, I do feel that the theatrical experience is very special experience. And people should try not to miss out on that. We have to try to keep the cinematic experience alive. And why should it be only for event films like the Marvel films, because the cinematic experience is unparallel even for films like 8am Metro. I don't really care how much money it makes but I think it's a brave decision by the makers to release the film in cinemas and I completely stand with their decision.

Recently, Nawazuddin Siddiqui said that there are certain films that get limited screens and then if it flops, the actor is blamed for it. What do you think about this since 8AM Metro also released on limited screens?

It has to be on limited screens because we don't have the budget to release it on 4000 screens. We are already being brave by trying to get people's bums on the seats with a film like this. It's increasingly difficult to maintain people's attention let alone getting them to cinemas. Under those circumstances, you have to balance your bravado with some sort of pragmatism. So, having a limited release is being pragmatic. So that the pressure of box office is much lesser as you have to make less money also. It costs money to publicise and release a film and I think it's a smart decision, that's why its a limited release. If we got slightly better things then of course, it would have been better. But then, it's a fight that we have always been fighting. The show timings have always been a problem and somewhere, we have to try and negotiate with this. I understand Nawaz's perspective, I understand that there's a certain marquee stardom that's attached to your name, with theatrical releases, and that can be diminished because the perception is about how much money you can draw. The industry's perception for marquee stardom is based on that. And when your films don't do well, it affects that perception. And for somebody like me, I don't want to bother myself with such perceptions. 

Your role in 'Badhaai Do' was also very different. And despite being brief, it got great response. Was that expected when you thought of going for it?

No, I am generally of the practice since a while now, of not having any expectations. In my life, even if I go back to all the successes I have had before becoming an actor, be it winning any sports competition or my design collection winning the National Award when I graduated from NIFT, I remember all those things but not once did I aim for winning the competition. I wasn't aiming for the prize. Whenever I have had these successes, it was just me going there and trying to do my best in the given circumstance. And that's what I want to focus on. I don't want to bother myself about the result. Similarly, I did not expect people to love it, what I expected was me being very sincere and dedicated and do my best for that role. I was thrilled and overjoyed with all the love and affection that I got from it. 

Having completed a decade in the industry, do you think the advent of OTT has widened the avenues for actors?

The greatest advantage of a new medium capturing the imagination of people is that it empowers storytellers. The theatrical business model is cut-throat, complex and difficult. OTT has empowered storytellers. There's no sword of box-office hanging on top of them, so there's a lot more freedom to tell your story in long format. And you don't have to necessarily bank on marquee actors to get your story across or get visibility. It has also generated more jobs because it has empowered directors and storytellers.

Having essayed the role of a good father in 'Dahaad', how do you think the society needs to change their perception in terms of the pressure that they put on their children?

I think a family should be a safe space. I don't have children and I would give the benefit of doubt to my parents also that they didn't know a lot of stuff. There is a tendency to bring up children the way you are brought up. Humne kia tha tum bhi karo. I would like to say that the family should be a safe space where the children would feel safe to come and even admit to mistakes and not really have the fear that this is going to have dire consequences. And I think this is very important for their learning also. 

There has to be proper discipline and consequences for doing bad things is also necessary but they should not have the fear that they cannot talk about it. The parents have to make their homes a safe space.

What kind of roles would you like to play in future?

I have no idea. I keep rowing my boat over an endless river. Things keep coming up to me and I decide whether to do it or not. I don't have a list since I feel it's limiting. I want to freely explore all possibilities. I don't want to know what I am doing next, and I want it to be a surprise for me also. Like in case of Dibakar Bannerjee's story in 'The Ghost Stories', where he wanted me to play the role of a monster.