Coorg boy's filmy journey

He’s showcased his acting prowess in critically-acclaimed movies and is known for portraying characters that aren’t run-of-the-mill. Bengaluru boy Gulshan Devaiah will now be seen in actress Konkana Sen Sharma’s directorial debut A Death in the Gunj, which will hit the screens on June 2. Talking about his role in A Death in the Gunj, Gulshan reveals, “I play Nandan Bakshi, son to Colonel OP Bakshi played by the late great Om Puri. I live in Kolkata with my wife (my college sweetheart) and our daughter. I also have my old set of friends in McCluskie ganj — when I’m with them, I go back to my college days and do things like drinking beer, smoking and jumping into the water!”

Interestingly, the role of his papa was loosely based on Konkana’s real-life father and was workshopped and based on Gulshan’s dad as well. “I had some photos of him and Konkana showed me pictures of her dad, so we used visual references to create an illusion of that period,” adds Gulshan. When shooting for the flick, the actor got to spend quite some time with the legendary Om Puri. “He was a very jovial man and he’d tell a lot of jokes — in Punjabi mostly. He and Ranveer (Shorey) would converse in Punjabi. It was fantastic to watch him do his scenes,” he says.

As someone who’s acted in movies like Hunterrr that have received critical praise, what does he think of the box office race?  “This current trend where everybody is measuring the success of the movie based on its box office collections is something I don’t agree with. Collections are important. But for me, the longevity of a film is based on the kind of mark it’s left on people’s minds and hearts.”

On the work front, Gulshan has done a webseries called Smoke and is looking at scripts while recuperating from his knee surgery. When not watching movies or plays in his free time, he and his gorgeous Greek wife Kalliroi, like to do some travelling. Talk about his hometown Bengaluru and the Coorg lad can’t help but get nostalgic about his favourite hangouts. “I used to go to Pecos and drink beer. I also like the dosa places and gulkand shops in Malleswaram. Veena Stores is another place that I miss.”