Gulshan Devaiah (born 28 May 1978) is an Indian actor who primarily appears in

Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

. He is known for his roles in ''

Shaitan Iblis (), alternatively known as Eblīs, also known as Shaitan, is the leader of the devils () in Islam. According to the Quran, Iblis was thrown out of heaven after refusing to prostrate himself before Adam. He is often compared to the Chri ...

'', '' Hate Story'' and '' Hunterrr''. His performance in ''Shaitan'' was critically praised and earned him a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He has starred in web series such as '' Afsos'', '' Duranga'', '' Dahaad'' and ''Guns & Gulaabs''.

Early life and education

Devaiah was born on 28 May 1978 in

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

into a Kodava family. He is a NIFT graduate. He is the son of Sri Devaiah and Pushpalata who were employed by Bharat Electronics Ltd. He completed his primary education at Cluny Convent and St Joseph's Indian High School. After graduation from NIFT, he got jobs in the fashion industry where he worked for 10 years. He also taught

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

students, fashion, at Wigan & Leigh College. Devaiah started his Bollywood journey with minor roles in Bangalore's English theatre. After he performed in several dramas, he moved to

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

for bigger opportunities.

Personal life

He was married to actress Kallirroi Tziafeta, from

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, from 2012 to 2020. As of 2025, Gulshan and Kallirroi are back together.

Career

Devaiah started his career from the

Anurag Kashyap Anurag Kashyap (born 10 September 1972) is an Indian filmmaker and actor known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of four Filmfare Awards. For his contributions to films, the Government of France made him a Knight of the Ordre ...

's feature film '' That Girl in Yellow Boots'', alongside Kalki Koechlin and

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He was notable in Indian parallel cinema and has starred in various international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfa ...

in 2010. The film was screened at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

, followed by the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

. He played the role of Chitiappa in the film. Next in 2011, he appeared in Rohan Sippy's crime thriller '' Dum Maaro Dum'', starring

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (; born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. From 2012 to 2016, Bachchan appeared in ...

Bipasha Basu Bipasha Basu (born 7 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Primarily known for her work in Hindi films, she List of awards and nominations received by Bipasha Basu, has received a Filmfare Awards, Filmfare Award. In the 2000s and 2010s, she was ...

Rana Daggubati Ramanaidu Daggubati, (; born 14 December 1984) known professionally as Rana Daggubati, is an Indian actor, film producer, and entrepreneur who primarily works in Telugu cinema, in addition to Tamil cinema, Tamil and Hindi cinema, Hindi films. H ...

and Prateik Babbar, where he played the role of Ricky. In the same year, Devaiah appeared in

Bejoy Nambiar Bejoy Nambiar (born 12 April 1979) is an Indian film director, and screenwriter known for his work in Bollywood. He is mostly known for his critically acclaimed short films, ''Rahu'' and '' Reflections'', starring Mohanlal. He was the winner o ...

's Hindi thriller film ''

'', starring

Rajeev Khandelwal Rajeev Khandelwal (born 16 October 1975) is an Indian film and television actor, singer and host. He started his career directing the television series ''Filmy Chakkar''. His break as an actor was as the lead in the television drama, '' Kahiin ...

and Kalki Koechlin, where he portrayed the role of Karan Chaudhary "KC". Released in June 2011, the film was a critical and commercial success, where Devaiah's performance was acclaimed. He was nominated for the several awards including,

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Times G ...

Screen Awards The Screen Awards was an annual awards ceremony held in India, honouring professional excellence in Bollywood. The nomination and award selection was done by a panel of distinguished professionals from the industry. The awards were introduced ...

Stardust Awards The Stardust Awards was an award ceremony for Hindi movies, which was sponsored by '' Stardust'' magazine. Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won. The first ceremony was held in 2004 for films released in 2003. The ...

and

Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards The Producers Guild Film Awards, previously known as the Apsara Awards, is an award event hosted by the Producers Guild of India to recognize excellence in Hindi film and television. Originated by filmmaker and scholar Amit Khanna in 2004, th ...

in the category of Best Male Debut and Best Actor in a Supporting Role, along with other ensemble characters. In 2012, Devaiah appeared in

Vivek Agnihotri Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (born 10 November 1973) is an Indian director, producer, and writer who works in Hindi cinema. He is a member of the board of India's Central Board of Film Certification and a cultural representative of Indian Cinema at ...

's erotic thriller Hate Story, produced by

Vikram Bhatt Vikram Bhatt is an Indian director, producer, screenwriter and actor. He is best known for directing the ''Raaz'' film series, an Indian horror series produced by Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt and for directing '' Ghulam'' (1998) starring Aam ...

, co-starring

Paoli Dam Paoli Dam (born 1980) is an Indian actress who started her career with the Bengali television serial ''Jibon Niye Khela'' (2003). She then worked in Bengali television serials such as ''Tithir Atithi'' and ''Sonar Harin''; the former ran for ...

. This was his first lead role, where he portrayed the antagonistic role of Siddharth Dhanrajgir, a cocky son of a rich business tycoon. The film went on to become a

sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game or other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release, but eventually became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have ...

, and garnered the positive reviews from the critics.

Taran Adarsh Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media, as well as his reviews for Bollywood Hungama. Career Taran Adarsh started his journ ...

Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is an Indian entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides n ...

rated 3/5 to the film and labelled Devaiah's performance as "excellent". The same year, he played in Vasan Bala's crime thriller film '' Peddlers'' alongside Nimrat Kaur, where he portrayed the role of Ranjit D'souza, a 20-years old boy, who gets trapped in the drug trade. The film was premiered at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, which was muted by the critics. In 2013, Devaiah appeared in

Sanjay Leela Bhansali Sanjay Leela Bhansali (born 24 February 1963) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, editor and music composer, who works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several awards, including seven National Film Awards and twelve Filmf ...

's romantic-tragedy drama film '' Ram-Leela'', starring

Ranveer Singh Ranveer Singh Bhavnani (; born 6 July 1985) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Ranveer Singh, several awards, including five Filmfare Awards. He is among the highest- ...

and

Deepika Padukone Deepika Padukone (; born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Hindi films. She is India's highest-paid actress, as of 2023, and List of awards and nominations received by Deepika Padukone, her accolades include thre ...

, where he played the role of Bhavani, which was a 'blockbuster' in the year. After a year gap, In 2015, Devaiah appeared in Harshavardan Kulkarni's

adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

film '' Hunterrr'', co-starring

Radhika Apte Radhika Apte () (born 7 September 1985) is an Indian film and television actress. She began acting in theatre and made her film debut with a brief role in the fantasy drama ''Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!'' (2005). Her first lead role was in the 2009 ...

, where he portrayed the role of Mandar Ponkshe, a sex-addicted man and describing his lustful journey in life. The film did well at the

box-office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicket. ...

. In 2016, he was also seen playing the role of an NRI in

's film '' Junooniyat''. Devaiah signed 3 films in 2017, ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

'', ''

A Death in the Gunj ''A Death In The Gunj'' is a 2016 Indian English-language drama film written and directed by Konkona Sen Sharma. The film features an ensemble cast of Vikrant Massey, Tillotama Shome, Om Puri, Tanuja, Gulshan Devaiah, Kalki Koechlin, Jim S ...

'' and '' CandyFlip''. He played double role of twin brothers Karate Mani and Jimmy in action comedy film '' Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota'' for which he won Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor and was also nominated for

Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor The Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a male actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role. Although the awards starte ...

. He played the role of Buraq Ansari in action film '' Commando 3''. In 2020 he appeared in

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

's drama series '' Afsos'' and Netflix original film '' Ghost Stories''.

Filmography

Films

Television

Short Film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Devaiah, Gulshan Male actors from Bengaluru Film directors from Bengaluru Living people 1978 births Male actors in Hindi cinema Male actors in Kannada cinema Indian male film actors Filmfare Awards South winners National Institute of Fashion Technology alumni 21st-century Indian male actors Kodava people Screen Awards winners Zee Cine Awards winners