For years, Gulshan Devaiah has been delivering the goods when it comes to noteworthy performances. Now, the actor is riding high on the success of his web series Dahaad, in which he plays the astute and principled cop Devi Lal Singh. t2 chatted with Gulshan on the unanimous praise for Dahaad, what worked for his portrayal of Devi and why he now wants to act in ‘Brokeback Mandawa!’

Dahaad has been received very well unanimously. Even almost a month after it dropped, viewers are watching it and many are going back for a rewatch. Your Twitter timeline has also exploded with positive comments....

My IT cell has been working very well. I have paid for all this positive buzz! (Laughs)

On a serious note, it’s really satisfying when people are able to connect with a character on a humane level. That’s always the ultimate goal for us. That’s what gives storytellers and actors the most satisfaction. We create the illusion of a character and if people buy into that illusion as reality, then that is most satisfying.

In Dahaad, the audiences have connected with each of the primary characters and sometimes, even with the secondary characters. What I liked is that viewers connected with Devi Lal more as a person than as a cop... for his attitude, for his ability to try and do the right thing, for the way he handles certain situations with his children.

Isn’t he too good to be true?

Not at all. There are lots of men like that, there are a lot of people like that. We, unfortunately, live in a time where ideas and ideologies and people’s methods of illustrating them are very extreme... people’s reactions are also very extreme. But that doesn’t mean that moderation doesn’t exist. In fact, I feel that most people exist in the grey, fuzzy zone.

But while people like Devi Lal exist, they are not ‘fashionable’ (smiles). That’s because they are not flashy. Loud people tend to garner more attention but that doesn’t mean that the quiet ones who do their job quietly are not around.

Is that true for Gulshan too?

I am quite flashy... have you seen how I dress?! (Laughs) I wear pearls and black nails and boots and sheer shirts and high-waisted pants. I am always playing the fool and singing songs on stage.

I am saying in terms of quietly doing your work...

Yes, that’s true. When it comes to work, I think one should quietly focus and get it done and not care too much about the results. That’s my strategy and it’s worked well for me so far. Let’s see how it goes.

What did you most connect with when you were offered this part in Dahaad?

The child inside me jumped at the opportunity of wearing a uniform. It was always a childish sort of wish that I wanted to wear a uniform on screen. So the five-year-old Gullu inside me was very satisfied.

Also, it’s such a great part... good for my versatility and diversity. I had a genuine interest in interpreting this part and also being part of this story. I thought it would be great for my career to do such a part and such a project.

Did playing this man tap into any aspect of you as an actor that you hadn’t had the chance to bring alive on screen before?

I think he’s the best person among all the people that I have played so far (laughs). Not that I had to tap very deep into myself to play him. I think it was a great opportunity to show other aspects of my skills as an actor... to be able to play a subtle and nuanced character who is quiet.

I have played louder and much more intense parts before and people have enjoyed them and also been entertained by them. Like in the case of Commando 3 or Duranga... very intense parts. There is intensity even in Devi Lal, but it is contained. The challenge for me also lay in that, but I also thoroughly enjoyed playing him.

In response to my first question, you said that Dahaad worked because people connected with the primary and secondary characters. In what way do you think anyone could connect to a psychopathic serial killer like Anand, played by Vijay Varma?

It seems like that. But he is a human being who is a part of society and he clearly has a problem. Vijay put so many layers and nuances into the character and that made him more human. Honestly, Anand doesn’t seem evil... it seems he has a problem which needed to be arrested pretty early on in his life. He has a mental illness and he is unable to contain the monster within him.

Honestly, Devi Lal also has a monster inside him, all of us do... but we know how to deal with it and keep it restrained. But Anand’s monster controls him. Vijay’s performance is so layered that you can clearly see that Anand is sick. He does very bad things. But if he had got some help early on, perhaps he would have been able to contain this monster. Perhaps he could, I am not sure... I don’t have any expertise in this matter. But honestly, I do feel empathetic towards this character.

We have been seeing a lot of fun BTS moments from the sets of Dahaad and Vijay told us how it was important for him to keep the atmosphere between shots light in order to play such an intense character. Does that apply to you as well?

It’s certainly helpful if you can get along with the people you work with, but it’s not absolutely necessary. We are all professionals and at the end of the day, the job is the most important thing. We all got along fabulously in Dahaad and that obviously translated into a fun, enjoyable and creative experience.

In the case of Dahaad, we were away from home for a long period of time and the team was together for three months at a stretch. Long formats take 90-100 days to shoot at the minimum. We had a sense of comfort with each other and that helped us. When you get along personally, there is open and free communication on set and because you know that person, you can gauge how they will react in a scene.

But your unabashed love is only reserved for only one Dahaad co-actor...

Vijay! Vijay! Vijay! Absolutely Vijay! Jokingly also and seriously also (laughs). I am a huge admirer of his craft and skill. He’s doing wonderfully well. I wish him well and he wishes well for me. All the silly jokes apart, this is how we feel for each other, we root for each other and I am very happy to see him do well and he is happy to see me do well.

He was telling me that he wants someone to make a bromance film for the two of you....

Ya, for sure! I have romanced Rajkummar (Rao) on screen (in Badhaai Do). Now it’s Vijay’s turn. We should call it ‘Brokeback Mandawa!’ That’s a name that was suggested by Reema Kagti (the co-creator and co-director of Dahaad) herself.

It sounds like a bit of a B-film....

I think a B-film with the two of us will be great fun!

You have told me in the past that you aren’t regretful about how your career has shaped up but you wish you had got better opportunities. Would you say the same now, given that you have been doing some great work of late?

I have got some wonderful opportunities, but I have also missed out on some great ones. But that always happens. You can’t always get what you want. Sometimes people don’t even get what they need... at least I got what I needed.

Everywhere I go, people speak to me about Hunterrr (2015). Even if they don’t know my name, they know Mandar (his character in that film). The perception is that the film did well because of its recall value, but it didn’t make money. Can you imagine what my career would have been if Hunterrr had been profitable? Good or bad I don’t know, but my career would have been different. It would have opened up many doors and would have empowered me. That didn’t happen.

Priyanka Roy My favourite Gulshan Devaiah role is... Tell t2@abp.in