Young and talented actor Gulshan Devaiah is mostly known for his roles in Shaitan, Hate Story, and Hunterrr. His performance in Shaitan was critically praised and earned him a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. Not many know but Gulshan was also a theatre actor. Talking to Statesman, Gulshan revealed his first theatre experience.
He was quoted saying by the portal, “I was 5 years old and my mother was already an actor on stage. She use to be a very fine actor and I use to travel with her wherever she performed and watch her performing. It was a Malayalam play and I did a guest appearance. My mother and I had to just walk past, look at this person who is making a Rangoli on the floor, and appreciate it. I had absolutely no clue about what I was doing but I was over the moon that I was on the stage and all these people were watching me. That was the first experience of the stage that I could remember. I have a clear memory; I can still see myself wearing a blue checked shirt and blue shorts with elastic and my mom wearing a chiffon saree. It was in the year 1982-83. The first time I professionally did a play Kurukshetra Burning in Bangalore it was in the year 2007 and in the English language. That was the first time after the play I felt I was good as an actor. I had that confidence I could say that I was good. It was a series of monologues. It was a fictitious retelling of what happened after the Mahabharat war. I played Duryodhan. Each monologue was about 15 mins. So I performed that monologue. My father had come to see the play, he was in the audience. After I did that I had such a great feeling that everybody responded so well to my performance and I think I gave a lot to that performance. It was then that I decided to come to Mumbai and pursue my dreams. It was never my dream to be a theatre actor. Theatre is my teacher and I am very grateful to the theatre. That play and role gave me the confidence to pursue my career and dream in Mumbai.”
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