Telugu cinema was always familiar territory for me: Gulshan Devaiah

For Bengaluru-born Gulshan Devaiah, stepping into South Indian cinema feels less like a new frontier and more like a homecoming. After carving a niche with unconventional roles in Hindi cinema, the actor is reconnecting with the film cultures that shaped his growing-up years.

In an interview with Hyderabad Times, Gulshan opens up about navigating language barriers, his meticulous prep for his Telugu debut Maa Inti Bangaram, and why this transition was always meant to happen.

‘Southern cinema shaped my early years’ While Bollywood is where he made his name, Gulshan is quick to point out that South cinema was a big part of his growing up. “For someone who grew up in Bengaluru, surrounded by Telugu-speaking friends, Tamil-speaking friends and Gujarati families, everything, the city was the original pan-India experience long before that term became popular.

Southern cinema was always part of my formative years,” he says, reflecting on his growing presence in South cinema.

When asked about his earliest memories of watching Telugu films, his face lights up with nostalgia. “I’ve watched Telugu films since I was a child. Shiva really caught my attention — it was stylish and very different. It was also my first introduction to Ram Gopal Varma’s cinematic language. It felt raw, intense and unlike anything I had seen at the time,” he recalls, adding, “I remember Kshana Kshanam of Venkatesh Daggubati’s too.

When Chiranjeevi’s Mutha Mestri released, everyone in my colony was singing the songs.”‘I’ve grown up speaking Kannada and hearing Telugu & Tamil’Given his childhood connection, making the leap to South cinema didn’t require much deliberation. “I never had a strategy that I must work in the South,” he says, adding, “If something interesting comes along, I say yes. And having grown up speaking Kannada and hearing Telugu and Tamil regularly, the transition feels natural.” Gulshan delivered a chilling, grounded performance as Karuna, a menacing ex-Naxalite leader, in Maa Inti Bangaram.Anchoring much of the film’s dramatic tension, the role demanded intense preparation, requiring him to master a distinct Rayalaseema dialect and push himself far out of his linguistic comfort zone. “When we were shooting, I kept asking for extra takes. I wanted to get it right,” he shares, crediting director Nandini Reddy’s patience for creating a safe space on set.

“She never rushed me or said we’ll fix it in dubbing.

That support made a difference. Nandini creates a very comfortable space for actors. That helps when you’re working in a language that isn’t completely your own.”

‘If people don’t notice I’m not a native speaker, I’ll be very happy’In both Maa Inti Bangaram and in his upcoming Tamil flm Legacy, he plays characters meant to sound like native speakers. “If I can pass off my Telugu and Tamil without people noticing that I’m not a native speaker, I’ll be very happy,” he says with a smile.This linguistic dedication extends to his upcoming Tamil debut, Legacy, where he is again determined to sound like a native speaker. The film sees Gulshan taking on the role of a police officer, adding another shade to his expanding repertoire of men in uniform. Having previously played cops in Bad Cop and Dahaad, he laughs about building his “own cop universe across platforms.” But he is quick to clarify that the similarities end at the uniform.

“A cop is just a job. What matters is personality. Each of these characters is psychologically distinct, shaped by different motivations and moral codes,” he says

‘Hyderabad memories begin with food’ Ask him about Hyderabad, and he quickly brings up the food. His fondest memories of the city, he says, are built around what he ate during his visits. “My friends introduced me to the local breakfast culture here — soft idlis, crisp dosas and bowls of chutney that quickly became part of my routine,” he recalls. He also speaks fondly of the city’s non-vegetarian fare. “If you enjoy Hyderabadi food, especially the non-vegetarian dishes, you’re sorted.

But it’s the balance between non-veg and veg here that makes the food scene so interesting,” he says with a laugh.—Sanjana Pulugurtha