I was an avid Amar Chitra Katha reader: Gulshan Devaiah

Actor Gulshan Devaiah names a few books that changed his life. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is one such book that the Hunterrr (2015) actor names. Excerpts from an interview:

Which books are currently on your reading list?

Just one, What Doesn’t Kill Us: How Freezing Water, Extreme Altitude, and Environmental Conditioning Will Renew Our Lost Evolutionary Strength by Scott Carney

Which was the best book you’ve read so far?

Sanford Meisner on acting.

Which genres do you enjoy reading? Which do you avoid?

I am not so particular about genres, but these days, I like books that are informative. I avoid self-help books.

Which book do you think everyone should read at least once?

I haven’t written anything yet, but if I do, then everyone must read it. Until then, they should read Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond.

What do you like to read when you travel?

I don’t read much while travelling. I usually like to look outside the window.

Which is your favourite fairy tale or folk story?

All of William Shakespeare’s plays.

What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood stories have stayed with you?

I was an avid reader of Amar Chitra Katha. I remember the stories from the Mahabharata that my grandfather told me when I was young.

If you had to name one book that made you who you are today, which would it be?

This comes as a surprise to me too, but The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I was given this book by a friend in 2003 and I was bed ridden from hepatitis and I had lost 18 kilos in two weeks and I was depressed about other things too. That book saved me and it’s the only book I’ve read more than once.

Which author would you choose to write your life story?

First, I must make my life worthy of being told as a story. Actually, I have never thought about such things nor do I have the ambition to have my life story published in any form.

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First Published: Mar 03, 2019 14:12 IST