BENGALURU: One might wonder why Gulshan Devaiah, despite not hailing from the city, comes here quite often. The actor reveals he is a frequent visitor to Bengaluru since his parents stay here. However, he keeps his visits low-key since it revolves around the medical needs of his mother. “Mum has had rheumatoid arthritis since 1986, which has since worsened. Being a single child, the responsibilities solely lie on my shoulder,” says Devaiah, who is currently in the city for a medical emergency.
With the city’s flood situation, Devaiah, who resides in Mathikere, is thankful that his area is safe but hopes the city gets back to normalcy soon. Although he is not able to visit his usual hangouts, he ensures he gets his favourite dishes delivered home. “CTR in Malleswaram has started delivering dosas to my area. It’s not the same as the ‘hot-hot’ masala dosa they serve on the spot, but it still is quite satisfying,” says Devaiah, adding that Veena Stores is also one of his favourites.
Devaiah’s last release was a webseries on Zee5, Duranga, which stars Drashti Dhami in the lead. The show is a thriller and an adaptation of the Korean drama Flower of Evil. Though not very fond of remakes, Devaiah found the dual character he plays quite interesting. “I don’t like the trend of remakes and biopics, I am quite critical of those. But when I read this, I thought I should make an exception.
It was a dramatically written part. As an actor, there was scope for a lot of dramatic performances. There is duality to the character,” he explains, adding that he didn’t watch the original version so as to not get influenced by it while playing his part.
Even if it has been two weeks since the release of the webseries, it is continuing to grab the headlines. With compliments pouring in from everywhere, Devaiah candidly says he is not awkward about accepting them. “Sometimes it becomes really difficult to accept compliments from certain people. On two separate occasions, I got a video where Mr Nassereddin Shah was talking highly of me as an actor. Such situations become difficult because they are stalwarts who paved the way for us,” says Devaiah.
Now, he is looking forward to his next release, Shiksha Mandal, where he plays the role of a professor. “There will be a lot of drama and action with a lot of fight sequences. It’s very dramatic since a lot of it has been inspired from true events,” says Devaiah , without revealing much from the show.