Gulshan Devaiah: ‘Whether you like it or not, someone has to be behind it’: Gulshan Devaiah on Ranbir Kapoor’s ‘Ramayana’ and its global ambitions | Hindi Movie News

Gulshan Devaiah received critical acclaim for playing the villainous king Kulashekara in Rishab Shetty’s epic action drama ‘Kantara Chapter 1’. Recently, the actor opened up about the difficulty of bringing fictional characters to life on screen. He also equated Ranbir Kapoor’s much-awaited hit, ‘Ramayana’, with supporting its global ambitions and said that Indian films aiming to reach a global audience deserve support.

Gulshan Devaiah says that convincing an audience is not difficult

Asked whether actors find it difficult to convince the audience when they play fictional or fictional characters, Gulshan Devaiah said he doesn’t think so. Speaking to Hindustan Times, he said, “I don’t think so. Kantara was a fictional book, about Ramayana, there are already many books. I don’t think it’s difficult. Also, people come to theaters with the idea that it’s pretentious, but still, if you make them feel the story and the place, they’ll give you the benefit of the doubt”.Gulshan added that the believability of a fantasy film depends on several factors. “And it depends on how well the film is shot, the performances and other things to maintain that illusion. I don’t think playing fictional characters or historical characters is that difficult unless there are expectations. For example, some characters are very respected and high, like Shivaji Maharaj; he is almost a divine figure of Maharashtrians, so translating him becomes a trick,” he explained.The actor said that the expectations of the audience and the longing for old and familiar images can make certain roles very difficult. Referring to Ranbir playing Lord Rama in ‘Ramayana’, he revealed that the actor comes with expectations from him. “Even Rama has that (expected burden) because (it is called) maryada purushottam. There is nostalgia attached to it and because there is a whole generation that has very fond feelings for Ramanand Sagar who is Ramayan and Arun Govil who plays Lord Ram, so you tend to measure that old feeling with this,” he said.

Gulshan Devaiah supports the global ambitions of Ramayana

Devaiah also spoke about the global ambitions of Ranbir’s Ramayana and what makes the film unique. According to him, this film is aimed at a wide audience, including both the Indian diaspora and the audience outside it. “I think this film caters to a very large audience, Indians living abroad and non-Indians abroad. As there is no bigger market than Hollywood for English films, so if an Indian film has that desire for everyone in the world to watch it, then it is a big desire,” he said.

Gulshan Devaiah compares ‘Ramayana’ with SS Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’

He also urged the audience to support Indian films that aim to reach audiences around the world, regardless of their views on them. Pointing to SS Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’, he said its success in the US is a good sign for Indian cinema. “Whether you like it or not, that’s a different thing, but someone has to rally behind it. Like, I didn’t have RRR, but I love that it’s doing so well in the US. It’s good for Indian films that at least Rajamouli got his foot in the door, and more will follow.” Ramayana seems to be like that, so the desire of our film to go global and be rooted in our culture, is good,” he said.

About ‘Ramayana’

Nitesh Tiwari’s ‘Ramayana’ features Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana. The screen adaptation of the Hindu epic is being done as a two-part project, with the first part set to arrive around Diwali 2026.

Gulshan Devaiah’s next film ‘Little Thomas’

Meanwhile, Gulshan will next be seen in Kaushal Oza’s ‘Little Thomas’, opposite Rasika Dugal, which is slated for a theatrical release on October 23.