Gulshan Devaiah in 'Guns & Gulaabs'.
Credit: X/@gulshandevaiah
Gulshan Devaiah says he was at a stage in his career where he had decided not to take up negative roles but Guns & Gulaabs, with its spaghetti western-like setting and an interesting mix of characters, was too delicious an opportunity to let go.
In the 1990s-set series from director duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, Devaiah plays '4-Cut Atmaram', a hired assassin in a Sanjay Dutt-style get-up, who has an almost mythical reputation for the way he uses his Rampuri knife to kill people.
"Raj sir called me. Usually, he does the calling and he asked me to have a look at this. I didn't want to do a villain's role, I wanted to take a break and there was some conflict with the schedule also, but he insisted."
"This one was such a fun and quirky character in Raj & DK's world. It was like a spaghetti western, and I really imagined being in one. I am so glad that I made the right decision," Devaiah told PTI in an interview.
The series follows the story of a lovestruck mechanic Paana Tipu (Rajkummar), a reluctant heir to a ruling gang Chhota Ganchi (Adarsh Gourav), an honest officer-turned-agent-of-chaos Arjun Verma (Dulquer), and Devaiah's 4-Cut Atmaram.
The series, which comes after his turn as cop Devi Singh in Prime Video series Dahaad, offered Devaiah a chance to play an interesting role and the actor said he was so intrigued by it that he immediately started building the character in his mind.
"I'm not so interested in playing just villain roles. If I want diversity, then I have to take responsibility for that. But sometimes there are roles like Guns & Gulaabs. It would be rather stupid if I refuse it because they are such fantastic parts. They are parts that will really be highlights in my career, like it was with Jimmy," he said, referring to his role in Vasan Bala's critical hit Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota.
Atmaram's look was partially inspired by the hairstyles that Dutt and Mithun Chkaraborty sported in the 90s, but the idea to use a Rampuri knife instead of a switchblade was his own, the actor said.
"I didn't know what it was initially and what they were considering, but I remembered that in movies from '50s and '60s, the villains used to have Rampuri Chakoo. I said, 'Can I have a Rampuri Chakoo, which is not a switchblade?' I did not want it to open with a button. I wanted it to make the 'kat kat' sound when opened by hand so that people know that it's Atmaram even when I am not in the frame." Asked whether he would be up for a second season if the show is renewed by Netflix, Devaiah said he had asked a similar question to Nidimoru.
"I would totally be up for it. One of the questions I asked Raj sir was that 'if there is a season two, will there be Atmaram in it? He said, 'yeah, of course'. But how, I don't know. If there is a season two, I think I'd love to return as Atmaram,' said the actor, whose character's fate has been left ambiguous in the show.
Badhaai Do, Dahaad and now Guns and Gulaabs, it has been an interesting phase in Devaiah's career and the actor said he is happy with the attention each of these roles have generated.
"I think people liked Devi Singh (Dahaad) because he's a good guy and they like Atmaram because he's a bad guy," he said.
A graduate of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Devaiah, 44, began his acting journey with Bengaluru’s English theatre before moving to Mumbai.
The actor has come to be known as an unconventional artist with his roles in Shaitan, Hunterrr, A Death in the Gunj, Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, Ram Leela, Badhaai Do and series Afsos, Duranga and Dahaad.
He is happy that audiences have started to recognise that he is an actor who will bring to the screen unique characters.
"Many people leave comments like, 'I am watching this only for you'. My reputation may not be gigantic, but I do have a credibility. I know that people approach me for work because I bring a certain work ethic and certain credibility. So audiences also, I'm sure, are kind of attracted by that. It is a good reputation to have and I hope to keep growing it," the actor said.
Devaiah said he has an interesting slate of roles in the coming months.
"I'm going to start a comedy-drama that's in pre-production. I will be doing a bit more hard core action-oriented stuff in the OTT space. It's very old school Hindi cinema sensibility, episodic and a bit of an experiment for me. Then, I have to finish Ulajh, which is a spy thriller," he said.