From Shaitaan’s KC to A Death in the Gunj’s Nandan ‘Nandu’ Bakshi or Hate Story’s Siddharth Dhanrajgir, actor Gulshan Devaiah has experimented with various characters on-screen. The audience has viewed and accepted him portraying shades of grey, as a lead, in a double role, positive role, and more throughout the movies and series he made his presence felt. The actor never shies away from portraying his versatility with characters and has time and again succeeded in delivering impactful roles in whatever screen time he has had.
Now, he is back again with yet another character that would be added to his repertoire of memorable performances. He stars in the Raj & DK creation and direction Guns & Gulaabs as Chaar Cut Atmaram, a serial killer on the loose. Set in the 90’s the quirky, genre–blend web series that releases on Netflix today tells the story of gang wars in Gulaabganj with a high dosage of romance, drama, and violence, making sure to keep the audience’s adrenaline level elevated at all times.
Indulge catches up with Gulshan on his role, choice of scripts, BTS moments, and exploring himself as an actor.
Excerpts from the conversation…
Take us through your character in Guns & Gulaabs
My character is called Chaar-cut Atmaram [4-Cut Atmaram] and I keep long hair for the show. I won’t reveal much about my character but it was a great experience for me to portray Atmaram.
What made you choose the script?
Raj & DK create such wonderful worlds, characters, and words. This is the second time I am working with them. It was a lot of fun the first time too. When they call for a role, I know there is a really good reason for me to be excited about it. They bring that much-needed versatility to my career. Also, they give you some really different and whacky roles to play.
Anything that you recreated from the 90s to get into the skin of your character
Yeah, I wore really tight underpants!
How do you remember the nuances of the bygone era?
Wow! Less choice! We didn’t have that many choices. We had like one channel and some two soft drinks. But there’s a particular perspective that we had. Some of us who grew up in that period we are really appreciative of the fact that there is so much choice now. This may not answer the question directly but it depends on the philosophy here.
A memorable BTS that you would like to share
I got to meet and hang out with actor TJ Bhanu. She’s a really interesting person. I never thought I will meet somebody like her – a pretty good actor with a great back story. She’s a little mad but that’s what sets her apart. She learned an entire language once just to do a film in that language. She’s a Telugu from Chhattisgarh who speaks excellent Hindi and some Chhattisgarhi and she self-taught herself Tamil. She is a hopeless romantic who romanticises everything. I spent a lot of time chatting with her, getting to know her, and challenging her ideas.
Having worked in OTTs and movies, which platform do you prefer and why?
I prefer both. I’m a lover of long formats. I just don’t have any interest in doing short formats. Since feature lengths and series are both long formats, I enjoy doing both.
Do you think there is more scope to explore yourself as an actor?
Yes. In a long format show, there is more work and you get more time with the character. Usually with features what happens is the format is not feasible to have more than two or three main characters. But in a series format, it’s a lot more time and fun.
What would your dream role be?
I don’t have a dream role. I don’t make a list because then I am limiting myself.
Who would you want to point a gun to and who would you like to give a Gulaab to?
I would like to give both to myself. Sometimes, I am so hard on myself and at times I am relaxed about certain things. So, I think I would like to point the gun to my own head and because I sometimes overdo it, I would like to give myself some Gulaabs.
Your upcoming project/s
I have a film that I am currently shooting for called Ulajh and then I am going to start a new series which is a comedy-drama.
Guns & Gulaabs also star Dulquer Salmaan, Rajkummar Rao, Late Satish Kaushik, and others. It starts streaming on Netflix today!