Kantara Chapter 1 fame Gulshan Devaiah highlights gender disparity in South films: ‘Auratein kam nazar aayi…’| Exclusive

Speaking exclusively to india.com, Gulshan Devaiah, who made his south debut with Rishab Shetty's Kantara Chapter 1, opened up about how working in the South industry differs from his experience in Hindi films. Read below!

Gulshan Devaiah is seen essaying the role of Prince Kulashekara in Rishab Shetty’s Kantara Chapter 1, which also marks his south film debut. In an exclusive interview with india.com, the actor discusses key distinctions between Bollywood and South Indian cinema.

Gulshan noted that the South film industry continues to approach storytelling with conviction and sincerity. He believes that Bollywood, over the years, has drifted from that core and no longer holds the same passion it once did. He believes that everyone in the Hindi film industry is following the same trend, which makes the films look “packaged.”

“Bollywood films are packaged,” Gulshan Devaiah says, comparing South cinema

“There’s a certain passion they have for cinema and storytelling, which I feel has slightly diminished in Hindi film industry. It has kind of lost its rootedness. I think they used to tell great stories but, now I think its packaged- to make you feel a certain way or just to make you laugh. They’re not trying to push boundaries. There’s a bit of lack of sincerity- not everyone, but overall there’s a trend and everyone is following it. These are all packaged films. It’s not like they’re telling stories because they genuinely want to; it’s more like, “We have this actor, so let’s package a story around them,” Gulshan expressed.

“I am used to seeing more women on set,” Gulshan Devaiah opens up on gender disparity in South films

Gulshan observed that while working on Kantara Chapter 1, he noticed far fewer women on set compared to what he’s familiar with in Bollywood. He said, “Wahan pe auratein kam nazar aayi. There could be more women working in the crew. Maybe it’s because of the working conditions there. Since I’ve worked in Bollywood. I’m used to seeing more women on set-in production design, costume departments, technical teams and writing.” Highlighting the gender gap, the Family Man actor added, “There a lot more women in the Hindi film industry, which I think is missing in the South. I don’t know why.”

Gulshan Devaiah calls for diversity

Gulshan feels that there should come a day when we don’t label it one film industry or another and just appreciate the diversity of stories. “Let me tell you that’s there is only one film- I don’t have real experience working in southern film industry. I hope there comes a day when they are no boundaries. It’s our cinema, and we should enjoy the diversity of stories. That’s already happening with films like Kantara, where even people who don’t speak the language are watching and appreciating it,” He said.

Released on October 2, Kantara Chapter 1, besides Gulshan Devaiah, also stars Rishab Shetty, Jayaram, Rukmini Vasanth, Pramod Shetty and Rakesh Poojari, among others.