'In Bollywood, being good is not good enough'

After being noticed as the human-eating ape in Ghost Stories and the manic depressive in Afsos, Gulshan Devaiah says he won't look at any role as a straightforward one.

In Dibakar Banerjee's short film that was part of the Ghost Stories anthology, Gulshan Devaiah plays a human-size ape. The one who will eat his own daughter. Although he is unrecognisable under the prosthetics, the brutal swag comes through convincingly. And suddenly, although you have seen him in Hunterr, you are left saying, "Hey, he was good! Why am I not seeing more of him?"

Well, there is more. Devaiah is now in Afsos, where he plays a man committed to committing suicide, and the chaos that ensues. The Amazon Original series has received favourable reviews, and we are not surprised. Whether in Shaitan, or Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota, Devaiah has managed to bring gravitas to his characters.

Right now, he is shooting in Rajasthan for Reema Kagti's web show, Fallen. He says the man-eating ape was tough to play. "Dibakar wanted a 'performance', even from behind the prosthetics. You know sometimes, you can't even move a finger [because of the weight]. It's like being locked in a small room. I had to really prep physically for it, so I could create that performance." In Afsos, he says, he tried to play a man who thinks he is depressed. "He is like a puppy, easily swayed. But the point is that he only thinks he wants to commit suicide, and is fulfilling a prophecy he has designed. The writers were very careful, especially since mental health is bang in the middle of everyday conversation. We don't make light of suicide anywhere. Every joke needs to have a context, or else it loses meaning," says the 41-year-old.

Although Devaiah doesn't have a check list of the sort of movies he wants to do, he has made sure to choose carefully. And he says, even if he gets a "mainstream" role , he would try to interpret it differently. "I think it's all about not looking at things in a straightforward manner. My characters are influenced by the way I think about life, or the world, at that particular moment. I have realised you have to be convinced of the character's agenda, and then submit to it. That's when you can do a good job of making people believe in it."

He may have the acting hacks pat down, but Devaiah admits it has taken him a while to get a hang of the business of filmmaking. "It's a hustle. Being good is not good enough. Your craft and career are two different things. It's all about having the right projection. I know my work will have the maximum impact, but attention spans are low, so you have to learn how to get yourself out there." The younger lot of actors, he says, he learns from by just watching.

And when he gets time off from work, he catches up on YouTube videos, about sneakers and guns. "I can strip an AK47 and put it back, theoretically of course," he says. He is also a history buff, the subject that "puts everything into perspective". "I watched this series on World War 2. It spoke of how the rise of nationalism was the seed. It's similar to what we are going through right now as a nation. History makes you realise how humans react, and how sorely lacking we are in balance."

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!