In her six years of Bollywood career, Gul Panag has done only eight films. Out of these eight films, six of them have released in last three years. What’s more, she hasn’t repeated her association with any of the film makers, hence substantiating her claim that she doesn’t believe in aligning herself with any particular camp.
“My long term perspective when it comes to movies is simple – I want to do cinema which turns out to be a milestone in history. I want to make a substantial enough contribution. However, in my pursuit for this excellence, I don’t want to be dependent on anyone by aligning myself to any film makers or camps. That’s a strict no-no for me since that’s not the way I ever wish to function”, declares Gul who has modelled her career on her own terms and over a period time has started making a good enough impression in the industry.
Her positive attitude in life fetched her RANN and even though it turned out to be an all-men saga, Gul is glad that she was a part of this Ram Gopal Varma film for the sheer quality that it promised to offer.
“RANN has released and we all can see that is a great film. I am happy to be part of it”, she smiles, “When you are working with someone of the calibre of Ram Gopal Varma, rest assured you know that you are in safe hands. It is definitely nice to be a part of a large project which has a huge canvas to boast of. Moreover, when you have people like Amitabh Bachchan, Paresh Rawal, Riteish Deshmukh, Rajat Kapoor, Mohnish Behl and Rajpal Yadav coming together for a film, you know for sure that it is a great ensemble to be a part of.”
Still, Gul is guarded in replying to the query whether the film qualifies to be one of the most important films of her career?
“Absolutely not”, Gul surprises here, “Yes, I am happy and feel extremely lucky to be a part of it. Still, it would be wrong to say that it is the most important film ever of my career. This way, in retrospect every film of mine is equally important because I did them all with my eyes open.”
Talking about the decision making that goes in her choice of roles, Gul denies taking an over calculative approach. “I sign films based on my distinct”, says Gul, “It is never about any permutation, calculations or combinations. What’s the point? After all sometimes even the best laid plans totally fall flat on their face and fail miserably.”
After RANN, Gul would be seen in A RECTANGULAR LOVE STORY, HELLO DARLING, FATSO and a Prakash Jha production. One waits to see whether her instincts fetch her positive results when these films hit the screens.
“The offers which are coming my way are thankfully interesting”, smiles Gul, “It’s a mix of everything for me though I am fortunate that there a lore more performance oriented roles that are pouring in. A lot of film makers want to rope in someone who is good on eyes and can also act. That is not a combination that is easily available out here and that’s the reason why I feel privileged.”
Looking forward to the way her career is shaping, Gul concludes on a hopeful note. “I truly trust myself to be the one with a difference. I wanted to start off differently and I was lucky enough to do that with DHOOP. I wanted to stay put on my own terms and thankfully I have been able to do that. Now tomorrow I want to be someone who remembered for many more years to come. I am confident I would be able to achieve that as well. After all, I don’t want to be remembered as someone who was just a Miss India or a beauty queen.”
