Gul Panag has enjoyed an eventful year in 2008. Whether it is her entire new chic look or critical acclaim coming her way in SUMMER 2007 or commercial success in HELLO or the much seen and appreciated TATA SKY PLUS commercial with Aamir Khan or the dare-bare shoot for MAXIM that saw her in a hot new avtar - Gul has stayed in news for all the right reasons in the year gone by. No wonder, with the shooting of her next film with none other than Ram Gopal Varma - RANN - looking at kick starting in early 2009, Gul is grinning from ear to ear and looking at far more interesting times when it comes to her Bollywood career.
Gul, you have been on the scene for last so many years. Still, has 2008 been your best ever when it comes to your Bollywood career?
Absolutely yes. I couldn't have asked for a better year. SUMMER 2007 got me critical acclaim and it was a film that was very close to my heart. It failed at the box office because it saw a disastrous release. If released better it could have done better business. Still, the silver lining was the fact that all critics were unanimous about my performance and liked my work. I am glad I could appeal to all kind of audiences.
But wasn't it heart breaking to see your film being treated so badly from the release perspective?
Of course it was heart breaking when the film didn't bring in cash. The day show timings came out for the film, I had the feeling that the film would flop. We didn't get the right show timings at prominent multiplexes. But alas, none of us could do anything about it.
And then came HELLO.
[Laughs] And it was so funny sometimes since there were lot of false calls around its release. We would hear one day that it was arriving soon and then suddenly the plans would be postponed for a few weeks. This was a film which was not for the critics though. The reviews were bad all over but still the film managed to do decent business at the box office. My performance was appreciated by one and all and I am extremely grateful that the film did work eventually. I am very fortunate and God has been extremely kind.
Now comes RANN which in real terms is a true blue multi starrer. Big B, Paresh Rawal, Ritiesh Deshmukh, Rajat Kapoor, Manisha Koirala - its one powerful list. And then there is Gul Panag. How does she stand out?
[Smiles] I guess that's the beauty of working with RGV. He does justice to each of his characters and there is nothing big or small. He justifies the presence of a character into the script and has the capability of making sure that each of them stands out. I am sure I too will!
