Kantara Star Gulshan Devaiah Opens Up On Bollywood vs South Debate
Updated on: 16 October, 2025 12:21 PM IST |Shweta Shah
Gulshan Devaiah on Bollywood vs South film industry
The boundaries between film industries are fading as the South and Bollywood are seamlessly collaborating. However, the debate about which film industry is better at storytelling continues even today.
The conversation has become more prominent after movies like Kalki 2898 AD, Pushpa: The Rule, Coolie, and Kantara made a huge impact on the Hindi-speaking markets, whereas big-budget Bollywood films are not being received well.
Actor Gulshan Devaiah, who garnered massive praise for his performance in Kantara Chapter 1, opened up about the raging South vs Bollywood debate.
Gulshan Devaiah on Bollywood vs. the South film industry
Speaking to NDTV on the long-going debate, the actor said, "Some films are doing well. I`ve done only one film in Kannada, so I don`t have much experience working in the southern industries."
Also Read: Sandeep Reddy Vanga Calls Rishab Shetty`s Kantara Chapter 1 "True One Man Show"
"But I know how Rishabh [Shetty] cast this film. He cast this film; he didn`t package the film. I know for sure that in the Hindi film industry, a lot of films are packaged, and actors are not cast as per requirement. I feel that makes a huge difference," he added.
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Devaiah shared Bollywood projects are often packaged to suit a star profile more than focusing on the characters.
He shared, "Sometimes the project looks really great; let`s get these people because they have a certain profile, but does the director think that they are the best for that particular character?"
Citing an example from John Abraham`s Force (2011), Gulshan Devaiah revealed, "They auditioned me for some other part. I said, I won`t audition for this; I want to audition for the antagonist part because I had seen Kaakha Kaakha, the original Tamil film. I thought the antagonist role was fascinating. I did an impressive job. I didn`t get the part, obviously, because I cannot be suitable for it at all."
"Because there was a certain physicality, a certain physical ability, an ability to perform. A certain wave was required, which only Vidyut (Jammwal) could have done. Between me and Vidyut, only he could have done it. That`s casting. He is rightly cast; I would be wrongly cast. Unless the part was written differently," he added.
As for Kantara Chapter 1, the movie continues to soar high at the box office. It has entered the highest-grossing movies list, with collections of over 450 crore in India alone.
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