Gulshan Devaiah has played some of the most memorable villains on screen, from the destructive Kulasekhara in Rishab Shetty’s Kantara: Chapter 1 to the brutal Four-Cut Atmaram in Raj and DK’s web series Guns & Gulaabs. Lately, however, the actor has also been exploring family entertainers and lighter stories. In an exclusive conversation with Hindustan Times, Gulshan says the shift was a conscious adjustment rather than part of a master plan. He wants his filmography to reflect his own tastes as a moviegoer, allowing him to explore different genres rather than be defined by a single role.
His upcoming film, Little Thomas, is a film about a curious boy who desperately wants a younger brother. At a time when big-screen conversations are often dominated by violent, high-octane entertainers, the film offers a different kind of story for families to watch together. Gulshan, however, believes that films across genres have always coexisted and that the industry’s apparent shift towards hyper-masculine violence may not tell the whole story. Excerpt:
Do you remember a children’s film that still affects you as an adult?
Several, actually. I really enjoyed Taare Zameen Par — the concept was wonderful. My father was a big fan of animated films, so one of my earliest cinema experiences was watching Disney’s Lady and the Tramp around 1984 or 1985. I really enjoyed watching those films; they transported me to a happy, imaginary world. Even now, my wife and I love watching animated films together, especially cat stories.
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In Indian cinema, Taare Zameen Par stands out. I also remember Mani Ratnam’s Anjali. That film had a huge impact on me — it was about an adorable child who dies and makes us all sad.
Little Thomas comes at a time when we see a lot of violence on screen, and there are relatively few films that families can watch together. Does this film fill that gap?
In Indian cinema, Taare Zameen Par stands out. I also remember Mani Ratnam’s Anjali. That film had a huge impact on me — it was about an adorable child who dies and makes us all sad.
Little Thomas comes at a time when we see a lot of violence on screen, and there are relatively few films that families can watch together. Does this film fill that gap?
I think so. When we say a ‘kids film’, it is usually a family film, because 10- or 12-year-olds won’t go to the cinema on their own. But I think all kinds of films have always coexisted. Currently, there is a lot of diversity in what audiences get to watch. It is just that these mass entertainers, which draw large crowds, are popular for obvious reasons. They are fun. Violence can also be fun. Great directors have used it as a medium, and it can be a lot of fun, but the business aspect of these films gets highlighted so much — they make enormous amounts of money — that it creates an illusion that the entire industry is shifting in one direction. But that’s just an illusion.
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Like in the 1970s and 1980s, Amitabh Bachchan’s “angry young man” was popular with the masses, while Amol Palekar’s “average young man” thrived with the middle class — both coexisted and thrived. India has immense socioeconomic diversity, so different types of films that appeal to different audiences can coexist. A film doesn’t need to make ₹500 or ₹1000 crores to be a success; the return on investment ratio matters.
One shouldn’t pay too much attention to these things because nobody really knows what works. Like, until Hanuman Ansh started making so much money, I didn’t even know it was in cinemas. Also, if a film like 12th Fail can become the most successful film of Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s career of 35 years, so anything can happen. Hyper-masculine violence is a trend today, just as it was in the 70s and 80s, but other stories continue to thrive alongside it.
Richa Chadha recently said that the success of Hanuman Ansh was driven more by its religious themes than simply being a content-driven success. What are your thoughts?
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I used Hanuman Ansh merely as an example of a project that came out of the blue and achieved massive box-office success. We have seen similar films before, like Queen. Nobody thought that it would be such an enormous success, or Vicky Donor, for that matter. These examples have always existed; I spoke about Hanuman Ansh as a recent example.
You mentioned in earlier interviews that you wanted a break from playing villains. Now you are doing more family-oriented projects like Little Thomas. Was this a deliberate career plan?
There was no master plan. I just felt a bit tired of playing negative roles and made minor adjustments in my choices. I wanted to try something new, and whenever a script comes along that creates a genuine compulsion in me to say yes, I take it on. With Little Thomas, the script was sweet and innocent, and I felt deeply connected to my own childhood. So, I had to do this.
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You move effortlessly between web series, major commercial films and independent projects. How do you approach selecting your roles?
I take the responsibility of curating my career. Hits and flops are part of an actor’s life. I like diversity and want to play different characters so you will never see me complaining that people look at me short-sightedly. It is also about me being authentic. I enjoy watching all kinds of films — mindless entertainers, hyper-masculine violence when I’m in the mood, and poignant, thought-provoking films. I want to be in all kinds of films, barring horror, though I’m jumping into that as well with Anarth.
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And I don’t want to have a terrible career, so I make choices thinking about whether something will be good for it. Like, when Kantara came to me, I had a feeling this film would make money because the first one was so successful. But since you don’t have this information for every film, it comes down to whether you like it or not.
Little Thomas, directed by Kaushal Oza, stars Gulshan alongside Rasika Dugal and Hridansh Parekh. The film releases in theatres on October 23.
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