Gulshan Devaiah’s big moment is here. And if he does not become one of the breakout stars of his generation, it will be because the world is askew. He was one of the few reasons why an underwhelming Dum Maro Dum had its moments. As a manipulative, street smart recruiter of the unsorted young in the drug trade, he was both loathsome and compulsively watchable.  For someone who has been a familiar face in the Bangalore theatre circuit since he was a child, addressing a camera like he owns it, is for want of a better cliche, child’s play.

 Devaiah does not act. He comes alive on stage, on the screen and in our imagination as a vital presence, a character with an edge, someone with light and fire and darkness. He stars in Shaitan, Bejoy Nambiar’s film about the young and the adrift in his first major role. His debut film That Girl in Yellow Boots did not see a theatrical release but Shaitan promises to be his ticket to more mainstream as well as alternate cinema. He also performs in Bangalore on June 11 and 12 in Ajay Krishnan’s play Butter And Mashed Banana and is perhaps the only young actor today who has a play and a film premier coming up together. 

 Nimi Ravindran, the producer of Butter And Mashed Banana recalls, “I have known him from the time he was 18. He is a NIFT graduate and I was working for a magazine and he designed clothes for a shoot for us. He moved to Mumbai three years ago and now, ofcourse, is a star!”

Gulshan spoke to Unboxed Writers on the day of his film’s release and a day before his play is staged at Ranga Shankara.

 What is your character in Shaitan about?

 KC, (the character I play) is a rogue, a cad, not a villain, but a bad guy driven by sex, booze and women…. someone who doesn’t give a damn about anything or anyone.. and sooner or later things get out of control.

 For an actor who is making waves in both mainstream and alternate cinema, what would you say about your journey to this point..where did it start?

 The journey started in Bangalore when I was 10 years old (I think). I used to fantasize about  movie  billboards with me on them in an  action hero avatar! I wanted to act and thanks to my very  talented parents, I was always exposed to art, cinema (Hindi), theatre and music from a very young age. I took to the arts like a moth to a flame. I dreamt of glamour and pomp and grandeur ( like most aspirants). In reality though, I never had the courage to pursue my dreams and I also started realizing that I needed to learn a lot about the craft I wanted to pursue. So theatre became my teacher and soon I was chipping away all the rough edges.

 10 years or so of chipping away, some money made from my fashion consultancy (since I graduated from NIFT ) and a whole lot of soul searching finally gave me the courage (foolishness as people called it then) to actually start my journey that has brought me to this point. It has been three years and I firmly believe that I am fulfilling my destiny. Yes, I’ve been lucky. Damn lucky! Three films in under three years are not easy to come by but fortune favors the brave, they say and I agree. Still, it is still just one step at a time. I am not in a hurry to get anywhere. 

 Any memories of Dum Maro Dum and That Girl in Yellow Boots? 

 During filming Dum Maro Dum in Goa, many people took pictures with me thinking I was Prateik! And when I told them I was nobody famous, one guy said to me, “toh kya hua sir…personality aap ki bhi achhi hai!” 

During That Girl With Yellow Boots, I remember I had rehearsed an important scene with Kalki Koechlin numerous times on and off the set and while we were filming, she missed her marker where she was to stop so I could mock slap her. She was now too close to me and at an angle where the fake slap would  look unconvincing. I paused and hoped the director would call a cut …. but he didn’t ! I had a minor heart failure and decided to go on with the scene with an impulse improvisation. I made up some lines/moves, Kalki made up some of her own and some how we brought it back on track. Mr Anurag Kashyap kept the scene with all the newly improvised bits in the final cut. (Smiles)

 Do you think theatre actors have more gravitas to bring to their cinematic outings? 

 Hmm… an actor is an actor. The gravitas is brought by an actor who cares about what he/she does and a learning, hard working actor will always bring the needed seriousness to the job whether he/she  is theatre schooled or film schooled or not schooled at all. I know some young actors who have no theatre background and are stupendous.

 What kind of cinema would you ideally like to do?

I am a sucker for variety. The fun part about acting is that you can be so many different people (it is boring to be me all the time) so I want them all..action, comedy, sci-fi, drama, animation, musicals, everything!

 What has been the best part of doing theatre, specifically Butter And Mashed Banana?

 The high you get from a good live performance is like nothing else. It is like you are on some crazy drug which is actually legal and safe! But it is also hard to face an audience on stage. It requires guts and focus. One has to be ‘present’ at all times and to have that buzz  of ‘readiness’ before a show, is just an out-of-this-world feeling. That combined with excitement and nervousness is quite the cocktail . All of the above, I have experienced with Butter and Mashed Banana.

I remember first watching Butter And Mashed Banana as an audience member and I was blown away by its raw brilliance. so When Ajay (the director/writer) asked me to be part of it, I was thrilled to bits. I have had so much fun with this play. I  feel like a rock star during every one of its shows. I think, it is  the best play I have been a part of so far. 

 The future?

 Miles of steps to climb and wise choices to make. Am working on a play called, The Real Inspector Hound which is being produced by Quaff Theater and is directed by Nayantara Kotian and Prashant Prakash. A couple of new film projects might happen too.  I feel optimistic.

Butter and Mashed Banana will be staged at Ranga Shankara on June 11 and 12. For bookings: www.bookmyticket.com and www.indianstage.in 

Reema Moudgil is the author of  Perfect Eight (http://www.flipkart.com/b/books/perfect-eight-reema-moudgil-book-9380032870?affid=unboxedwri )