Nicest guy I have played in my career: Gulshan Devaiah on his role in ‘Dahaad’

PTI, May 18, 2023, 6:12 PM IST

It was a childhood dream to don a uniform, says actor Gulshan Devaiah who describes his character of a progressive cop Devi Lal Singh in ”Dahaad” as the ”nicest guy” he has ever played.

Devaiah, known for his bad guy roles in ”Hate Story”, “Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela”, “Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota”, and “Commando 3″, said after playing negative parts, he wanted to woo the audience with a positive character.

”This is the nicest guy I have played in my entire career. He is a good guy. People tend to enjoy the bad guy roles that I do, so I wanted to woo them from a different side this time,” Devaiah told PTI in an interview here.

As someone who grew up watching Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha in khaki uniform in movies such as ”Zanjeer”, ”Amar Akbar Anthony” and ”Kalicharan”, the actor said he always wanted to play a police officer. ”I get to wear the uniform, in most of my part (in the show). That’s a silly childhood fantasy. When I was a kid, I would see Mr Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha playing cops… And you fantasise about that.

”I grew up fantasising about being in movies, and I am living my dream right now. So, it is a stupid fantasy, but it is fun when these dreams come true,” Devaiah added.

Devaiah’s Devi Lal Singh, a cop whose empathy, honesty and progressive nature often lands him in trouble with his seniors, has emerged as a fan favourite from the Sonakshi Sinha-fronted crime series currently streaming on Prime Video.

“I liked the part and the story. These guys have done excellent work and a lot of actors look forward to working with Excel Entertainment, Tiger Baby,” he said about the crime thriller.

”Dahaad” follows Anjali Bhaati (Sinha) and her colleagues Devi Lal Singh and Kailash Parghi (Sohum Shah) in a small-town police station in Rajasthan investigating a mysterious case where women are found dead in public bathrooms.

The series marks Devaiah’s first collaboration with both Kagti and Zoya Akhtar.

The 44-year-old actor now hopes he will one day get directed by Zoya Akhtar, known for films such as ”Luck By Chance”, ”Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobaara” and ”Gully Boy”. Kagti has helmed ”Dahaad” with Ruchika Oberoi of “Island City” fame while Zoya Akhtar serves as a creator on the show along with Kagti.

”So many of my friends have worked with her (Zoya), like Kalki (Koechlin) has worked with her. They are like ‘You have to work with Zoya’ and actors really like working with her. My turn has not come yet,” he said.

”Dahaad” also features Vijay Varma.