Gulshan Devaiah on Dahaad: Any other director would have offered me Vijay Varma's role

It's been two weeks since Dahaad was released on Prime Video and the series is still receiving rave reviews from all quarters. Something that actor Gulshan Devaiah is not complaining about. Gulshan plays a pivotal role in the web series that has been helmed by Reema Kagtiand Ruchika Oberoi. "I am a bit tired and exhausted from all the attention that I am getting. I like to complain butall this is nice," joked the actor as he spoke to WION recently.

"Happy with the reactions. I am also overwhelmed and there is a sense of gratitude that compels me to thank people for all the lovelymessages they are sending," said the actor in a candid chat.

Based in Mandawa, a small town in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, the web series stars Sonakshi Sinha, Vijay Varma, Gulshan Devaiah and Sohum Shah. A thriller-drama, Dahaad boasts of credible performances by its leading cast and Devaiah plays a super cop Devi Lal Singh, who plays by the book.

'Cops are humans, after all'

The actor says he tried to understand the character beyond his job. He admits that the makers gave him a free hand to interpret the character the way he wants to but he admits he tried to understand the personality of Devi Singh. "Only one thing I was conscious about. Being a cop is a job, not a personality. I tried to understand the personality of Devi Lal. Once I got that, it didn't matter if he was a cop or a lawyer."

The plot of the series revolves around a small police station and its three cops who are on the hunt for a serial killer who has been murdering local, young, unmarried women. Of the four main characters, Gulshan's Devi Lal was the least complicated character,and hence it was difficult to portray and make it stand out, a fact that the actor himself was aware of.

"Reema told me that other parts are more colourful, I am doing mostly procedural stuff on the show which can be mundane and boring. I was only focused on playing the character whichReema told me that Idid a good job. Because cops are like this in real life. They do a lot of paperwork, procedural stuff."

At a time when Hindi cinema and shows portray the police force as largerthan life, Gulshan's refrained performance as a man striving for gender equality at home and fair play at work stood out. "Cops are humans, aren't they? They are made larger than life," reasoned Gulshan.

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At the onset, Dahaad appears as a thriller. But when one looks deeper, it tackles multiple issues - from casteism to gender roles, to patriarchy - Dahaad's characters go through multiple emotions over the course of 8 episodes.
"It's a social drama disguised as a thriller. It's about society, it's about individuals, and how we interact with people," said the actor and added, "The thriller aspect is a facade. As Reema put it - it's a howdunnit. There are a lot of Korean films like this- where the audience already know who the killer is. This uses that format of a thriller to give a social commentary."

'Vijay and I are interchangeable'

While Vijay Varma's part looked the most complex of the lot, Gulshan says if he had to choose another character from the show to play - he would like to play Kailash Parghi (played by Sohum Shah) on the show.

"I was only offered Devi's character. I am usually offered the bad guy's part. But this was a good guy. Had it been someone else, they would have offered me Vijay's part. I understand thatwe are interchangeable. He can play my part, I can play his - in terms of the image that we both have," Gulshan said.

"But I was only considered for this part. I also wanted to do this part. Perhaps Kailash Parghi's part if I had to choose from other characters. I did find it interesting while shooting and watching Sohum's interpretation of it."

When asked to pick a favourite scene/moment from the show, Gulshan said, "The scenes with the kids,I particularly enjoyed. I wish I had this kind of a chat with my dad." In the show, the actor played a father to two teenage kids and he is shown having talks on gender roles, equality and sex education with his children.

'Was thrilled by the idea of romancing Rajkummar Rao'

Over the years the actor has carved a niche for himself in the film industry - having played both lead as well as supporting characters. His cameo in last year's brilliant film Badhaai Do earned him rave reviews. The actor humbly accepts the appreciation that came his way and said, "Feels wonderful that people like my work. I am a representative of the type of people they want to see succeed."

Is he aware that he is often termed as underrated and underutilised, we ask? "I understand why they say it and am filled with gratitude. But I am not sure if it's accurate to call me underrated or underutilised. I am responsible for curating my career and many times I don't take up projects because I am not genuinely interested in them. It creates a slightly sporadic career. It may be diverse but not consistent, I realise. I have to be picky about the work if I have to be responsible to curate my own career and it is not about ego - I sincerely have to be interested to take up a project and it has to compel me to do it."

Gulshan said he enjoyed playing the role of Guru Narayan in Badhaai Do. The director and the script made him say yes to the cameo. "With Badhaai Do, I liked the actors, I have worked with Harshavardhan Kulkarni in Hunterr and I liked the writing. I was thrilled by the idea of romancing Rajkummar Rao. It was a well-written character. It was a six-minute part. but well written. I was sincere in my approach tothe film; perhaps that's why people liked it."

So does Dahaad get a season 2? "Would like to take it forward for one more season. We had a wonderful time while shooting so would like to see another season, but I am not sure what they have planned," said Gulshan before signing off.

Dahaad is streaming on Prime Video.