Gulshan Devaiah: 'Afsos' is about life's positives, not depression

MUMBAI: Actor Gulshan Devaiah plays the in the black comedy web series "Afsos", which revolves around a suicidal man. He says the story tries focussing on the bright things in life in a humorous manner.

"It is an interesting character. Although he tries to kill himself 11 times, he fails every time, because in his subconscious he does not want to die. He thinks he is unhappy whereas actually he is not. The show is not about depression. It is about the positive side of life," said Gulshan, about his character, a struggling author named Nakul, in the eight-episode series currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Created by stand-up comedian Anirban Dasgupta along with Dibya Chatterjee, the series also features Anjali Patil, Sulagna Panigrahi, Aakash Dahiya and Heeba Shah, and is directed by Anubhuti Kasyap.

Mentioning the best takeaway from his character, Gulshan said: "I think it is a lesson that life is not as bad as we think it is. We tend to romanticise the bad side of a day. One can have a bad day -- whether it is at work or in personal relationship. Something can go wrong for a while but that is not the end of life. Also, the fact is life and death are not in our hand, but living life is. So, one should live life."

Starting his career in Bollywood with the film "That Girl In Yellow Boots" in 2010, Gulshan has appeared in films like "Shaitan", "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela", "Hunterrr", "A Death In The Gunj" and "Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota".

The actor has essayed quite a few interesting characters in the web space, on shows such as "Smoke", "Afsos" and digital films like "Ghost Stories".

Is the digital space his newfound exciting domain as an actor? "It is true that many actors are getting good opportunity to work in the web space, as many web series with interesting stories are being made here. But when I was growing up with the dream of becoming an actor, I wanted to work in films. That were the magnetic medium for us, but now that other avenues are opening up for actors, we embrace these too," he said.

"As an actor, if I want to do something in my career, I should not be rigid. Instead of waiting for an exciting film role to come my way and getting frustrated, it makes sense to work in new avenues such as web series. It is a difficult place to survive and that is why it is important to be patient and positive," the actor added.