It’s widely believed that Gulshan Devaiah is known to pick his roles wisely. And fans are hoping he has done that again with his latest, Dahaad. In the series on Amazon Prime Video, he plays the role of Devilal Singh, a senior officer to Anjali Bhaati—played by Sonakshi Sinha—who is trying to catch a serial killer, portrayed by Vijay Verma.
Unlike his previous role in Sikhasha Mandal, where he was a medical entrance exam coach, this time he was expected to portray a calm persona. “He’s a good guy, married with two children. He always tries his best to do the right thing, be it a cop, a father, or husband. He is supportive of Anjali and sees her as a capable police officer,” says Devaiah.
One of the things that appealed to him about the character is his non-heroic straightforwardness. “Despite certain corrupted ways in the system, he always tries to do the right thing. He’s a good guy with his flaws of course, but he tries his best to do good even if he’s not successful at it many times,” he explains.
In the series, Anand Swarnakar, played by Vijay Varmam, has an uncanny resemblance to real-life serial killer Mohan Kumar Vivekanand, who has been popularised by the name Cyanide Mohan, for giving cyanide-coated pills to his victims. However, Devaiah says his character has been mostly created from the script. “Whatever I have done has come from my interpretation of the script, my imagination, notes from my directors, and sometimes a little improvisation with my colleagues,” says Devaiah.
Having been shot during the beginning of the pandemic, the shoot came to a standstill during the lockdown. “We shot for about 35 days before the lockdown and the rest was done after the first wave. It wasn’t so difficult for me because my part of post production was quite strong and I remembered most of it. I only had to make sure I didn’t put on weight because I had to fit into my uniform,” he adds.
The show is created by Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar. But since Kagti co-directed the show along with Ruchika Oberoi, Devaiah says, “I loved working with Reema and Ruchika, my two directors and I got along well with them outside of the shoot as well.”
Now, Devaiah is looking forward to 8 A.M Metro, where he will be seen opposite Sayami Kher. The shoot of his upcoming project Ulajh, a patriotic thriller, headlined by Janhvi Kapoor, will start by the end
of May.