After Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (2018), Gulshan Devaiah is playing a double role again in Bad Cop. That’s not the only similarity between the two projects. The upcoming web series is also the first time he is attempting hardcore action since the Vasan Bala-directed venture.

“After six years, I got into full-blown action sequences in Bad Cop, and it took me back to the exhilarating days of Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota. The experience of having performed [stunts] earlier gave me the confidence and the awareness to do it safely. It was immensely satisfying,” says the actor.

Considering the Aditya Datt-helmed show is high on action, Devaiah had to undergo exhaustive prep. “Most of my prep was cardiovascular. I did interval training, wherein I would do three minutes of high-intensity training in boxing rings and mix it up with a minute of relaxation.”

In Bad Cop, Devaiah plays the double role of Karan and Arjun—one is an honest cop, and the other, a thief. Both have a common enemy in Anurag Kashyap’s character Kazbe. How was the experience of sharing screen space with the filmmaker, who launched him in movies? To Devaiah, shooting an action-packed climax with Kashyap was worth all the hard work he put in. In fact, it was one of the factors that drew him to the show.

“I enjoyed shooting the action-heavy climax with Anurag. [Even otherwise], I got a lot of time to hang with him. It was a memorable experience, especially doing the action scenes with him.”