Gulshan Devaiah: I was deeply moved by 8 A.M. Metro story | Exclusive

After his successful web series Dahaad last week, actor Gulshan Devaiah is back with another new project, and this time it is his theatrical release called 8 A.M. Metro. The actor is coming back to the 70mm screen after his last outing in Badhaai Do last year.

Talking about what made him choose to be part of the upcoming feature film, Gulshan told OTTplay, "When I read the script of the film, I thought it was a very emotional story. Apart from the fact that the story is very relevant because it also addresses the very important conversation around mental health and anxiety issues, as well as a beautiful romance between two characters, I was deeply moved by the story. So, I decided to come on board. I also must mention that I really like Saiyami as an actor. Earlier, we worked together in an anthology called Unpaused, in which we had a segment called Glitch."

He continued, "It was a Raj and DK short film, and we had very little time to prepare since it was a small, three-day shoot. But I genuinely enjoyed working with her as a co-actor. When I saw her in Chocked, I was blown away. She is such a good actress. So eventually, the good script and a co-actor like Saiyami were more than enough reasons for me to be part of 8 A.M. Metro."

As the poetry of Gulzar has been extensively used in the film as part of the narrative, we wondered if the actor is a regular follower of poetry and if any poets from recent times

Gulshan said, "I would like to expose myself to different art forms, be they music, painting, sculpture, or dance performances. Somewhere, I believe that the more I absorb art, the more it enriches my mind and betters my performance as an actor. Having said that poetry is a little difficult form of art for me to understand, I am not really a great observer of poetry or literature for that matter. However, when it comes to ghazals, I feel the lyrics and those couplets well. I do not know if it is the whole environment of the mehfil where the artist is performing the poetry and singing the ghazal that maybe creates the magic in my mind, but I rather enjoy ghazals. When it comes to Gulzar Saab and his poetry, I love his work specifically because he says everything beautifully and makes intense emotions accessible to the common person. So, I love his work."

The film, directed by Raj R. and featuring Saiyami Kher, releases on May 19 in theatres.