Who Is Gulshan Devaiah? The Unexpected Star Who Ended Up Creating Buzz In Kantara 1 With A Twist

Gulshan Devaiah, whose face is typically associated with character actors from Hindi cinema, one with proficiency in characters with complexity, is the man who played the famed antagonist, King Kulashekhara, in the epic prequel to Kantara: Chapter 1. Having grown up in Bengaluru, Karnataka, he has fed his roots into the Kannada filmography, being a well-known actor in Bollywood.

Before his way to fame through films like Shaitan and Hunterrr, he was a graduate of fashion design from NIFT, had spent a decade in the fashion industry, and had taught in a college. 

Eventually, it was his passion for performance that tempted him into the English theatre circuit in Bangalore, after which he moved to Mumbai in pursuit of films; thus, began an unorthodox career interspersed with unpredictable choices that earned him much critical acclaim.

From Hindi Films to Hombale: The Genesis of a Collaboration

Kantara has the blessing of long-time associate Gulshan Devaiah, a former friend of actor-filmmaker Rishabh Shetty. Interestingly, they have known each other since 2019, long before the original Kantara became a blockbuster.

Gulshan Devaiah admits he did not know who Rishabh Shetty was at that time but subsequently became enamored with his clear passion for storytelling and cinema. Though none of the previous projects they were working on were successful, the reason remained alive: there was always this desire to collaborate.

The King Kulashekhara Role: An Antagonist Written for Him

The role that King Kulashekhara, who rules tyrannically, played in Kantara: Chapter 1, was written for Gulshan Devaiah, a true testimony to Shetty’s vision and mutual artistic respect.

Although Devaiah has been generally cautious regarding coalitions with strictly negative roles, the overwhelming cultural power of the Kantara franchise along with the depth of the prequel’s script has convinced him otherwise. 

A pan-India blockbuster, this film also marks the debut of Devaiah in Kannada cinema and gives him a shot at playing a monarch who is complex and hated, establishing him as an ever-versatile artiste challenging the traditional formats of commercial success.

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