Gulshan Devaiah EXCLUSIVE: Washing utensils and clothes at home does not make anyone impotent, it is not the definition of manhood.

From being a drug addict youth in the film ‘Shaitan’, a spoiled rich man in ‘Hate Story’ to a sex addict in ‘Hunter’, actor Gulshan Devaiah showed the courage to choose out-of-the-box and bold characters right from the beginning of his/her career. In this context, these days he/she is in discussion about his/her new film Jhansi Ka Rajkumar. In this film, which breaks the common notion of gender role fixed in the society, Gulshan plays the role of an unemployed house husband of a working wife. Here is this special conversation with him/her:It has always been said in our society that men earn and women take care of the house. Your film breaks this fixed notion of gender role. What is your personal opinion about this?
I absolutely do not believe that because I am a man, I cannot stay at home. Can’t do household chores. Who made these rules? Where is it written like this? According to me, no such gender role should be fixed. However, this thinking exists in our society, which should be discussed. That’s why we made this film, because I’m not in favor of this thing at all. I believe that there is no single definition of manhood. We assume that this is manly and doing this is not manly. According to me, the one who does household work and washes clothes is also a man and those who have hair on their chest, who are very rough-tough type, are also men.

How much have you been helping yourself in household chores? If you are in a situation where your wife has to run the house and you have to take care of the house, would you be comfortable with it?
When I was very young, probably from 1984, my mother started suffering from diseases. Before that, my mother used to do all the household work, like packing my tiffin, getting my homework done, while she herself worked in the public sector. My father also used to work, but my mother used to do the household work because she was from an era where she believed that these were women’s jobs only. But when she fell ill, my father and I had to do household work from a very young age. If she had been fine, I don’t think I would have learned all that, but today those experiences are proving to be very important for me, because I never think that this is a woman’s job, this is a man’s job. However, this happened due to mother’s illness. Perhaps if my mother had been well, my thinking might have been different to some extent, but since I have done household chores with my father since childhood, I am quite comfortable with the idea that men can do household chores. I do not believe that washing utensils, cleaning the house or washing and drying clothes is only women’s work.

Your character in the film starts a new life from Delhi in Jhansi. You also came to Mumbai from Bangalore to become an actor. How challenging was the new beginning in a new city for you?
The only problem I faced was that I had come after learning the work, I had come so prepared that I was confident that I would get some work. Still, I was very underconfident about myself because I had no understanding of the film business. I came here just learning the craft, whereas here it is very important to understand the film business, because if you don’t understand it then it is a monster for you. Whereas, if you understand it, you will know how to deal with it. So, I believe that who I am today, how comfortable I am with myself, is all because of this city. It was very important for me to get out of the shadow of my parents. Mumbai has given me this identity. I would say that the places in Mumbai may be small, but the heart of Mumbai is very big.

You feel that your struggle was long due to being in an outside city or having no recognition in Bollywood. It took you time to understand the trends of the industry?
I want to present an important point in this insider-outsider debate. I want you to see the list of actors from the beginning, that is, from the 50s onwards, see how many actors are from film families and how many have come from outside. You look at the figures, Shahrukh Khan, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, all these superstars were outsiders. he/she later formed a film family, but he/she himself came from outside. Even now, Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma, Priyanka Chopra, all the famous actresses are outsiders, so I want people to think from this perspective also.

At the beginning of your career, you played such roles as a drug addict in Shaitan, a spoiled Amirzade in Hate Story and a sex addict in Hunter, which are completely different from the common perception of a hero. Did you not take any risk while choosing this role?
When I came into the industry, there was a trend going on that everyone had a body. Everyone used to go to the gym. Six pack abs were a must. Everyone wore similar clothes. Everyone had a different hairstyle, so I also tried to do those things but I was not comfortable in it. I thought that those who are doing this are right in their place, but I am not. I should do something different because I am losing my originality somewhere under this pressure. This does not require courage, it requires self-confidence that okay, this is my path. What everyone else is doing is their choice, but that path is not right for me. When you work, thinking whether it is out of the box or a bold choice, all this does not come to your mind.

We discuss a lot about stereotypes related to women. Are there any social beliefs about men that you feel are wrong?
The responsibility of running a household and raising a family is placed on men only, that is also a stereotype, which I do not find right. Meaning, if there are 3 children in the house. If there is a brother, an elder sister, a younger sister, then the pressure is on the man to take responsibility of the house and the sisters. Men also carry this burden and complicate their lives unnecessarily. Even if the sister says, ‘Brother, we will lend a hand’, they will still say, ‘No, I will also do everything, because I am a man,’ because they are also stuck in the stereotype that it is our responsibility only.