Mithun Chakraborty, Sanjay Dutt inspired Gulshan Devaiah’s Guns and Gulaabs character

From Dutt’s iconic mullet hair he sported in “Saajan” and “Khal Nayak” to Chakraborty’s retro dressing style, Devaiah said audiences will be able to see many references from the 1980s and 1990s in the show.

“The reference for the hair came from Sanjay Dutt of the 1990s… I might have improvised a few things in the show, but they were not planned… Many of the other references came from Mithun Chakraborty’s photos for clothing styles.

“Some of my other references came from old Bollywood films. There is a particular knife that I use in the show, it is sort of homage to the ’50s and ’60s. It has a particular name in the show,” the 45-year-old actor told PTI in an interview.

Devaiah recalled watching Dutt’s movies in theatres as a teenager.

“I was a 12-year-old when I saw ‘Saajan’. ‘Khalnayak’ was the first film that I saw of Sanjay Dutt in a cinema hall, and then ‘Thanedar’. It was a lot of fun.” The actor said much like the films from the era, “Guns & Gulaabs” is an “over-the-top” story that is set in a bizarre universe.

“The whole show is pretty over-the-top. It is a ‘kalpanik duniya’ (fictional world). This is going to be a crazy world where all characters will have their quirks and they’ll be a little bit more towards max volume,” he added.

The appreciation his last few projects — series “Duranga” and “Dahaad”, and films “Badhaai Do” and “8 AM Metro” — have received makes him feel “satisfied”, said Devaiah.

The actor said the positive reaction from the people motivates him to continue on the path he has followed until now. “It is a great satisfaction, and this is what I wanted to do. When people respond with such positivity, warmth and affection, I must be doing something right. So, it is really motivating… I am satisfied and delighted,” Devaiah said.

“Guns & Gulaabs”, which also features late actor Satish Kaushik, will premiere on Friday.