It’s been almost a decade for Gulshan Devaiah in films and the actor has a thriller called Footfairy, that focuses on a serial killer with a foot fetish, releasing on October 24 on &Pictures, in a direct-to-TV-release. t2 chatted with the 42-year-old actor, who started his career with a bang in Shaitan, on spending 10 years in films and why he enjoys being a “troll”.

Footfairy looks like a bonafide Bollywood thriller after a long time. And it’s releasing first on TV...

News channels were providing entertainment all these days, so now it’s time for entertainment channels to do that! (Laughs) I don’t know how the buzz for a film is created, but I did see comments on the trailer like, ‘Gulshan Sir, underrated actor’ and things like that. I don’t pay much attention to stuff like this, but it feels nice that even after 10 years in the film industry, people still like me.

Have you evolved into this sense of detachment or was it always there?

No, I wasn’t always like that. I have suffered very badly because of too much attachment to the result of my films (laughs). During my theatre days, I was a process-oriented actor, but somewhere I lost track a little bit. I am not saying that if a film of mine does badly, I don’t get affected at all. Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota had a very bad theatrical release due to various circumstances. That did upset me a little bit, but I was better equipped as compared to early on in my career where I had little or no understanding of how the business of cinema works. I am older and wiser now and, therefore, more detached.

What made you sign on Footfairy? We’ve heard you are a big thriller fan...

I am a David Fincher fan, who has made some landmark thrillers. What jumped out at me in the case of Footfairy was the ending. I liked the kind of referencing that Kanishk Varma, who is the writer-director on this film, had put into the script. He’s also a fan of the genre, and many people, incidents, films and books have inspired this story.

When we had spoken after Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, you had said that you have a problem with films going directly to digital. Do you still feel the same, especially given how things have changed, and your own film is releasing on TV first?

I have made my peace with it, to a large extent. At that point of time, as a lover of the art form of cinema, I was a bit concerned with the advent of OTT platforms, that the cinematic experience is going to suffer. But I slowly began to understand that both the mediums will thrive and coexist. There’s a lot that they can learn from each other. The box-office medium can be both rigid and ruthless, and this is a viable alternative.

We are also operating in special circumstances where the traditional exhibition model is not going to work anywhere. So one has to innovate. And I feel that through Footfairy, &Pictures has come up with a great way of getting a new release directly into people’s homes. Which means that TV can also emerge as a medium, along with movie theatres and digital platforms, and the three can compete in a healthy way.

Having said that, I love the cinema experience. I have grown up watching films in theatres and I won’t let go of that. Movie theatres in Mumbai still haven’t opened, but once they do and if Tenet releases, you will find me in a theatre, even if I have to land up in a PPE suit! (Laughs)

It’s been almost a decade for you in films. Are you happy with the choices you’ve made, given the last time we had spoken you had said that the opportunities are opening up but they aren’t consistent...

I am definitely not over the moon in terms of how my career has panned out since 2011. It could have been a lot better, I wish it was a lot better... it’s not. But it’s okay... it’s not terrible. A lot of it is sometimes luck, you know.

If any one of my films had made a lot of money, that would have put me in a different place... that would have empowered me as an actor. I’ve done some good films, worked with some great people, I’ve had a variety of experiences, most of them really good. I have no reason to complain, and I am upbeat with what’s going to come up. I just did some work with (directors) Raj & DK and once they are ready to shoot, I have to go back to Rajasthan and finish shooting for my web series Fallen, which is directed by Reema Kagti (and co-stars Sonakshi Sinha, Vijay Varma and Sohum Shah).

I am not regretful of the decisions I made... I wish I had got some better opportunities, but those didn’t happen.

Screengrab from the trailer of Footfairy Sourced by The Telegraph

One thing that happened in the lockdown is that you’ve really exploded on Twitter over the last few months...

(Laughs) I think I’ve just found my way of authentic expression. I always try and be authentic, in my work and in how I express myself. There’s also a certain sense of humour that I want to hold on to. Which, in a way, is helping me cope with a lot of the nonsense that’s been going around. Especially over the last few months, urban society has been sadly exposed, there’s been a lot of decay. I can’t do anything about it, but I tried to let it affect me less by holding on to the sense of humour that I have. I am quite happy being a troll on Twitter... most of the time I am trolling people! (Laughs)

Film-maker Vivek Agnihotri has already branded you his favourite troll!

(Laughs) He has no option! We do like each other, we made a film together (Hate Story) and I have respect for him for the professional relationship we’ve had. But mostly he says things to which I have an opposing opinion and I have to figure out how to respond to that. I think I have found my calling with him and our relationship has transitioned from director-actor to nuisance value and troll! (Laughs) He is a bit of a nuisance value.