Many men reside in Gulshan Devaiah—from the charming lover of Badhaai Do (2022) to the righteous cop of Dahaad. The Devaiah we meet this weekend is an outlandish assassin in Guns & Gulaabs. Point out the diversity in his work, and the actor says it’s a conscious effort.

“I am happy people are noticing the diversity. I am trying to [showcase] my versatility and create diversity because that’s who I am. I like unpredictability in my career, and that spills into my characters,” he begins.

The unpredictability of his character Atmaram drew him to Raj-DK’s crime comedy series, also starring Rajkummar Rao, Dulquer Salmaan and Adarsh Gourav.

The desire to be versatile implies that Devaiah is medium-agnostic. This, even as the success of a star is measured in terms of box office. The actor says he understands why the film industry attaches greater value to stars and commercial success. “To get people out of their houses, buy tickets and watch a film is hard. Unfortunately, a film’s success now is only measured by the box-office numbers. So, when you get [box-office] success, people attach more value to it.”

What, however, makes him sad is when the merit of a film is strictly judged by its commercial value. “Dil Chahta Hai didn’t make [much] money, but people remember it because it had a cultural impact. We don’t judge a film by how much we like it, anymore. We need to shift the way we look at films.”