Express News Service
BENGALURU: Gulshan Devaiah’s part in the movie Badhaai Do was not just a pleasant surprise for his fans, but also brought in more substance to the movie. Devaiah, who romances Rajkummar Rao, the male lead in the movie, says Rao is a wonderful actor and romancing him was easy. “His wife had visited the set in Dehradun and she said, ‘You guys share such wonderful chemistry’,” says Devaiah, who plays a character by the name Guru Narayan.
His association with Harshavardhan Kulkarni, director of the movie, goes back to Hunterr, which was Kulkarni’s first movie as director. When Badhaai Do came about, they thought Devaiah was a great choice to play a part.
“I think they waited for the right time to call me. He said there is a small part and asked me if I would be interested to come for a shoot for 2-3 days. It comes towards the end of the movie but it is a very crucial part,” says Devaiah.
Though he is very clear about not doing cameos, he made an exception for this particular movie. “Sometimes, some things really seem like a good idea. I am not really a cameo sort of guy, I like full-fledged parts. I trust Harsh as he’s my friend and I want to support him as well,” says Devaiah, adding that the team wanted his part to be a surprise. He had even requested an uncredited part but “the team was too embarrassed about it”.
Most of Devaiah’s scenes are with Rao, who he “likes and respects” as an actor. “It was a wonderful opportunity to reunite with all of them. I had last worked with him in Shaitan, where he had a small part,” says Devaiah. The actor is also seen sharing screen space with Sheeba Chaddha, who plays Rao’s mother in the film.
Guru Narayan is basking in the glory of the success of the film, which has appealed to the LGBTQ community who find him relatable. “I didnt think of the fact that he was gay, I just knew that he was in love. Guru Narayan is a person who is comfortable with who he is. All the LGBTQ community wants is equal treatment,” says Devaiah, who is yet to watch the movie.
While the actor is keener on playing full-length roles, he says it depends on numerous factors. “You have to have some sense and curate your career after a certain point. In the beginning, you just hope you work on good projects, but after a point, you need to have some sort of idea about what you want to do or what you don’t want to do. In my case I have figured the latter,” says Devaiah, whose next film is a project with Zoya Akhtar, the story of which is written by Reema Kagti, and stars Sonakshi Sinha.
