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MY WIFE GAVE ME TIPS ON HOW TO DO THE
SEX SCENES
In a candid chat, actor Gulshan Devaiah speaks on his boldest role to date, his wife's reaction to it and the Telugu film offers that he had missed
Sarah Salvadore
After "Shaitan" and "That Girl in Yellow Boots", "Hate Story" is your first mainstream commercial film…
Yes, it is. Though I played a small part in "Dum Maaro Dum", I consider this my first mainstream film because I play one of the leads. After I did movies like "Shaitan" and "That Girl…" I wanted to do a commercial flick and that's when I got this offer. I always believe that it's the movies that choose me and not vice versa. In fact, I was surprised that they wanted me to play one of the leads in the film.
Why were you surprised?
When Vivek (director Vivek Agnihotri) called me and offered me the part, he told me the film was written by Vikram Bhat. So, one has a fairly good idea about what to expect from Vikram's films and I wasn't sure how I would fit into the movie. But when I met Vivek, I totally saw myself in the role of Siddharth Dhanrajgir. All the characters in the film are well etched out. In fact, given a choice I would have chosen Paoli's role, but unfortunately, I don't have the physicality to pull that off (laughs).
Your movie is quite bold — from the poster to the sex scene.
Let me correct you here. My film does not have one sex scene. It has quite a few. People ask me about the sex scenes all the time and I have no qualms in answering them. In fact, I find it exciting to answer queries based on my on-screen lovemaking scenes. Look, there is a plot and there are characters in the movie, but we knew from the beginning that we were going to make a film that was heavy on adult content, yet not sleazy. And that's exactly what we are showing — be it the posters or the promos. We wanted to go where no other actor or film has ever gone before.
Were the lovemaking scenes too bold for you?
To be honest, I was not at all comfortable doing the sex scenes. I knew that the role demanded that I go where no other actor has ever gone before and didn't question my director's vision. But as we were inching closer to the shooting dates, I kept getting nervous. There were these thoughts in my head and they were scary — what if I embarrass myself in front of the lady? What if I don't give a good
shot? —Innumerable thoughts. I asked a few friends for tips, but it didn't help. Finally, it was Paoli who gave me the confidence. She came to the shoot absolutely prepared and I relaxed. All credit to her and my director. We shot the scenes in an aesthetic manner. The sex scenes are realistic, but not real.
What were your thoughts after shooting those scenes?
Honestly, I couldn't believe it was me. I thought I looked great! Vivek and the DP have great sense of visual aesthetics and when I finally got to see myself in those lovemaking scenes, I was blown away at how good I looked (laughs). It was nice, I enjoyed it.
How did your wife react to your role?
My wife, Kallirroi, is the best thing to have happened to me. After I married her on February 15 this year, luck has been on my side all the time. Kallirroi is a professional actor herself and she knew about my role in the movie. In fact, I went to her for tips on how to do those sex scenes. Kallirroi means fountain of beauty and she is exactly that to me. Yes, I'm totally smitten and in love.
What about your parents. Are you going to watch this film with them?
Well, my parents live in Bangalore, so they'll be watching the movie by themselves. I spoke to my mom when the promos first hit the airwaves. She was happy to see me on screen and thought I looked fabulous. But then that's mothers for you they always think their child looks best. But mom is an actor herself, she has been active on stage since she was young. So, I'm looking forward to her comments on my performance after she sees my film. Dad on the other hand will give me his critical views. My parents have never questioned me about the choices I have made as far as my movies are concerned. They know it's my craft. Meanwhile, my cousins joke and ask me when will I make a film that they can take their kids to watch (laughs). So, I'm looking forward to my family's feedback on my performance once they watch the film.
You are one of the few South Indian actors in Bollywood.
Yes, I am. Of late there have been quite a few who are making inroads in Bollywood. But, I made my debut in BTown and my Hindi is good. In fact, there was an international project too that didn't materialize because I couldn't meet the director as I was shooting.
Don't you want to do South Indian cinema?
I do. In fact, I did get an offer to do a Telugu film and I'm quite good with the language. It was a big ticket flick, but unfortunately, I didn't have the dates to accommodate it. I got an offer to do a Kannada movie too, but again, dates were an issue. I don't mind doing an out-an-out mass Telugu flick with expensive song sequences and all the trappings. But I have been losing out on a lot of projects due to date issues.
sarah.salvadore@
timesgroup.com
Gulshan Devaiah
Gulshan Devaiah
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