So I have got off to a rather slow start blogging this year, and I hope this pace is now behind me. I meet a lot of people who seem surprised that I blog( albeit irregularly) and even more so when they find out that I don’t talk about Bollywood. My answer is , why should I? Why should I do what every one else does? Wear what every one wears , look like every one does. Why because I am an individual who celeberates my uniqueness: of thought and action.
And in defense of my irregularity, I use this blog as a form of self expression, and even though I have often been approached by leading newpapers to write a regular column ,I have always declined on account of my writings being too radical and of course citing deadline pressure. So here I am!
I am grateful to Creative Fusion studio for constantly updating and upgrading my site with new additions constantly. And for constantly urging me to blog!
So as I sit getting my hair and make up done fo my appearance on Sony’s Boogie Woogie to promote Straight, I am using my I phone to post for the very first time! On a more serious note, would love to hear your thoughts on the Tamil nadu lawyers demanding Indian intervention in Sri Lanka. Do bear in mind that the ‘intervention’ that Pakistan has been doing all these years in Kashmir is also at the behest of the Kashmiri brother hood in Pakistan’s Kashmir or Azad Kashmir or as we call it: POK. The floor is open!
Amit Ganjoo
Yeah sure..thing:)..lemme see…India goes to Srilanka to help Tamils…Pakistan comes to India to help kashmiris…Afghanistan comes to Pakistan to help Islam..Iraqis go to Kuwait for helping something..(This one I honestly dont know)…umm then US goes to Israel for helping Palestine..and I cant even remmber engh states in USSR and Africa now…
This is especially interesting when it is done at times of economic downturn and millions of jobs being lost..and people dying from lack of food and medicines..
Yeps..its been a long time since u Blogged Gul…Good to have u back…U rock!!
Sherbir
The demand for Indian intervention in Tamil Nadu is well called for. The world today cannot see another holocaust, another genocide and when it is in the power of the Republic of India to act it should-not militarily but democratically.
The fact remains fight terror, fight the LTTE- but dont fight the Tamil population. As some believe and have expressed that the LTTE is using the Tamil population as human shields and is causing a higher death toll, then it is the responsibility of the Government of Sri Lanka to find a more suitable means of bringing an end to the problem. Again you may say what suitable end? Well, thats for the Sri Lankan Government to decide but if a more equitable system is not devised “Armageddon” will be at our door step, and if an attempt is not made to change the means of opening this pandora box the trojan horses that will emerge will cause further disturbance in the sub continent-more than it can handle presently.
Governments may fight extremism and terrorism but they cannot afford to fight the voice of reason.
Pushpinder
I think that India should stay out of this till the Srilankan government asks for help… officially of secretly… and I liked the idea of you being an individual who celeberates her uniqueness 😉
waise seems like straight will hit bulls eye … best of luck
prasun kulshrestha
The correct spelling is Boogie Woogie !!!!!!
I guess when you are promoting something or involved with any process, may it b film or life or event or lesson, one must b involved completely….sope..its really not BOOGEY WOOGEY..its Boogie Woogie.
You must be wondering y so much i am stressing over this? m i rude? naah…its not like that….the idea is to help you in future, bcoz being a so called FAN, i would appreciate if you could be honoured & respected for every aspect of life…choti choti galti se gadbad ho jaati hai dost….well, regarding ur blog- yes u write less these daz but it comes with interest. i believe the day u will find love towards blogging more n more, u will surely come outta work fora min and throw one of ur comment a week…well, whatever u write, it worths a lot babe.
Maria francis
Hi Gul
Tamil nadu lawyers asking centre to interven in srilankan problem because,
Tamils in srilanka are sufferring in the hands of srilankan government , so people in tamilnadu protesting
against srilanka government as well as central government in India, To get equal rights for tamils in srilanka.
I hope central government of India will interven in these matter to solve it as soon aspossible.
I hope one day the problem will be solved,precious life of Tamils should be saved
Bye Bye Gul
Maria Francis (tamilnadu)
midhun
Dear Gul,
That is the one thing I love the most about your blog – you don’t talk Bollywood here. t makes a lot of sense to make it a forum to air serious viewpoints, particularly on current affairs.
A big Thank You to Creative Fusion Studio for finally making you post a blog entry! They do good designing work too, from the look of this site.
Even as a lawyer myself, I think that the Tamil Nadu lawyers have belittled themselves by their violent protests. Of course, the LTTE must be wiped off the face of earth, by legitimate force. LTTE has lost its support among the Sri Lankan citizens. That LTTE is has not, is not and wlill not safeguard anybody’s interests is unmistakably clear from their dastardly acts. LTTE is not different from any terror outfit. Beisdes violence, LTTE tries to gatrner support from the Tamil label, raking up regionalism. Sri Lankan forces seem to be doing a pretty good job too, especially with the way they handled the Colombo attack on Feb 28.
It’s only been two days since the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked by terrorists. Probably you chose not to talk about this issue as you’d already posted about terrorism.
vaibhavac
Hey Gul,
First of all great to have you back and posting again..
The issue of Indian government is a widely debated one. For long we have been intervening in the matters of other countries (Bangladesh) and have been facing consequences. But I personally feel that just because the two communities are same, doesn’t make them Indian, and the government should act keeping the country in mind and not the Tamil community perse. We have several communities all over the world and that doesn’t mean that they start intervening in India’s matters whenever something happens or vice-versa. Going on similar lines, therefore the Indian government should act diplomatically and keep its distance from the internal matters of SriLanka.
Pakistani intervention in India is creating problems that are on the verge of never being solved peacefully. We cannot afford even a fraction of such a situation for a second time. Being a part of other country’s internal matters would be a diplomatic and political blunder.
Intervening now, would mean more migrants in the future and more problems just as the ones we are facing from the Eastern borders. On the other front, we would be losing a valuable cultural and SAARC member’s support.
More immigrants and that too in such recessionary times would lead to heightened problems, both economic and in terms of cross-cultural conflicts.
Therefore the Indian government should act in a pragmatic manner and not being carried away by emotions of Tamilian community. Going into Sri Lanka’s internal matters would be a diplomatic blunder and probably might attract the wrath of global bodies and US later on.
Therefore it is in the best interests of India to focus on current economic issues and stay away from unnecessary diplomatic and political and or military interventions.
Regards,
Vaibhav
midhun
So the B N Srikrishna Commission has found the TN lawyers guilty of initiating the violence, today. Moreover, I read in a newspaper that there are hundreds of cases in the Chennai courts against lawyers for perpetrating violence in the Court complexes – volence against Court staff, against judges, against the public, and between themselves too! Quite “incredible”! The Feb 19, 2009 incident must be cakewalk for them then.
Dave
I see you are among the few in Bollywood who have open views.
You know, I dont agree at all about India intervening in Sri Lanka. We can’t allow terrorists to prosper neither can we have a soft cornor for them. As far as Pakistan is concerned, they have had a state policy.
Terrorism in India is arising out of pain. I dont know if you have noticed but post Gujrat riots there have been as many as 26 terror attacks! compared to mere 11 between 1989-2001.
There is a line from a song by Metallica, that is stuck in my head and actually explains what is happening these days.
“Sleep my friend and you will see
That dream is my reality
They Keep me locked up in this cage
Can’t they see that why my brain says rage?
They think our heads are in their hands
But violent use brings violent plans
Keep him tied, it makes him well
He’s getting better, can’t you tell?”
P.S : You’ve got a milliondollar smile!
himanshuS
Dear Gul ,
Was surprised to see you asking for comments on political events.Hmm ! that means we have politically aware woman here.
In my view India is neither capable nor it should interfere in Sri Lanka’s internal matters.
We have lost Rajiv our popular pm in this murky game.Our Peace Keeping Force was there in 90’s , they lost lives but what we should call them a martyr or soldiers who died in other’s war ? That really hurts.
As far as LTTE is concerned their stubborn leadership closed all doors for peace if there were any attempts made and so today they are paying for it.
The sad aspect of all this is that precious human lives are at stake in political bickering.
People in India have right to speak so anyone can put forth their view but sometimes they need to be responsible as well.
suren
nothing will happen if these people fight or fast and even some people fire themselves,its not a powerful idea,they should think of some powerful ideas that will hear to the central,delhi….they r not using their brains,and even ministers and CM in chennai are also fasting,they should meet the central minister regarding this and TN CM should meet the represantatives…but simultaneously thinking abt tamilians in sri lanka,ther are unfortunately helpless…
motalala0000
respected gul panag ji…
mera naam punkaj hai aur main ludhiana city mein designer showroom ka malik hu iam from simple family mom is retired so is dad and i have married girl from colaba mumbai whome i met on net and have small kid name is armaan and he is very naughty and intelligent.i love my familya lot like u and i have only one dream in my life thats to make them feel happy and proud…..
i have oserved one thing in life that nothing can be done until god wants along with humab hardwork and determination and self beleief plus nbeleief in god…….maine apni life mein abhi tak kafi sankat dekhe hai aur boldly face kiya hai.bahut sapne hain baut mushkilein bhi hain but himmat bhi hai ki paar pa lunga as i beleieve after every dark night theres brighter day…………
well gul ji aapke liye sirf yahi kehna hai ki bhagwaan aapko aapke pariwaar ko bahut si khushiyan de aur aap hamesha tarakki ke asmaan ko chooti jayein…….
one last request would u like to meet my sone armaan or wanna see his photo along with my family……..i would be happy if u c an do so…..
punkaj
ludhiana
94657-72440
Chintani
Dear Gul Panag,
i know ur blog is not abt Bollywood, but i couldn’t resist telling u just how much i enjoyed watching u in Kashmir and in Dor. the former is 1 of the most sensible and non-drama shows i ever watched, and i was pretty bummed when it ended suddenly. Dor is 1 of my all-time favourite movies, and i think u, Ayesha Takia and Shreyas Talpade, all did a great job. also, i think u’re very pretty and seem to be an intelligent and independent woman, much like ur character in Dor.
i also wanna watch Hello ’cause u’ve acted in it and i liked the book.
keep making more intelligent movie. wish u all the best.
Love,
Chintani Desai- a fan 🙂
MBA Student, Mumbai
Gul Panag
Thank you Sherbir for your unique point of view. And thank you Amit, Pushpinder, Prasun, Suren and all you guys who’ve responded with a unanimous voice. We must respect the sovereignty of another nation and not get involved. Yet the fact that India is a major geo-political force cannot be wished away and the international state system decrees that the centre of power in a region should and will take on the role of policing the region. We have intervened in the past with disastrous repercussions, no doubt; however any kind of instability in the region will have some sort of intervention from someone or the other. Better that be India than it create a situation for China (or America)to extend its sphere of influence (china has recently bid for and secured the rights to developan important port, Gwadar, in Iran, while India just waited and waited to come up with a bid).
Sufficient to say that, we must use the same yardstick for all situations and that we should help SriLanka when asked , to find a diplomatic solution.
Prasun the spelling is now corrected. Thanks
Ghost Rider
Nice floor you opened up here! True, both POK and this issue have a lot in common. And like you said, India should perhaps intervene, but not until asked to. Now talking about instability and being vulnerable to external intervention, its tough to compare Sri Lanka, with Iran and Iraq, esp. due to the strategic goals behind those interventions. I would still say wait till asked for and things will be a lot better then. India is definitely not a good position to start a nice little war down there, primarily with all the crisis up north and also the financial crisis all around the world! It might just drown us. Now the geo-political force need not just be achieved through intervening into others territory. India has become a formidable force simply due to its abundance in intelligence. I guess that’s something to talk about with more pride!
Btw nice to see you back to blogging!
motalala0000
respected gul panag ji…
nice to hear that one of our actress from bollywood is intelligent and cares about political situations in our nation and around us……..so we can say you are beauty with intelligence and thats deadly combination now hehe……
gul panag ji yeh kuch batein aapke dhyaan mein lana chahunga…….
we are exploring new planets finding aliens etc but whats the use of finding new lands in space when our own planet we still cant give 2 times meal to poor clothes to poor and homes to live…..still in this twentieth centruy how can we say we are modern when some of our brothers sisters still sleep on earth some villages have never ever seen whats electricity and many people still dont like giving birth to girls……..is this humanity……..
pata nahin insaan sorry insaan kaha aadmi kahan ja raha hai…..
well at last once again good wishes to u and i would wish people like u join politics…one person can change whole scenario……..
pay my regrads to uncle ji and auntyji…….
thanx
punkaj
94657-72440
prasun kulshrestha
thanks gul. keep writing, smiles for u 🙂
Amit Ganjoo
Hmm being a responsible power makes sense…but I still think consolidating you own space before heading into others makes sense…We dont want another Kargil happening while we are out helping Sri Lanka..
Raghu
Hi,
I’m a first timer to this blog. The issue stated above is not as simple as it seems. Lets think about the situation for a minute. The lawyers who are protesting obviously have people they are related to in Sri Lanka. And thats why they are desperate to get them to safety. If it was our relatives who were stuck in the crossfire wouldn’t we do something similar. The scenario is similar to the ‘Indian Airlines flight 814 (VT-EDW) hijack on Friday, December 24, 1999’. Its not about intervention but about rescue. Innocent people who have nothing to do with LTTE, have to face the fate of LTTE? That is NOT right. I have no sympathy for LTTE ‘coz they’ve been blowing people up. But I don’t want innocents caught up in the cross fire. Its the children and survivors of these cross fires who end up becoming even more dangerous people. Thinkin straight ain’t so simple dudes.
Gul Panag
Thank you all for the comments! I like what Punkaj said, the world collectively spends billions of dollars on space and defense when countless starve in Sudan, Ethiopia and closer home in Bangladesh and of course India. We need to perhaps think before we frivolously spend. At least at an individual level one can make a start.
On a different note, President Obama has managed what years of governments the world over have failed to do: make the Swiss banks open up their account books. It is believed, close to 5 trillion dollars of American money is sitting in those swiss accounts. There were will be some serious taxes to pay for those hoping to circumvent a jail sentence. I wonder if India could exert similar pressure on the Swiss banks?? Some estimates put the figure(from India) at 15 trillion dollars. Thats a lot. How will it happen?( considering the very people who can put pressure are the ones banking with the Swiss Banks!!) AND most of it is money you and I pay in taxes. Honest isn’t it?
Thejesh GN
Yup i saw you on boogie woogie. Good luck for straight.
well while talking about mobile posting….Have you tried twitter?
Kasi
Hi Gul,
From your ‘Slow Start’ , i observe something you wrote, ‘individual who celeberates my uniqueness: of thought and action’ . Now also i gotto know that you are a Ayn Rand fan. Correlating both,I am Just curious to put my view that your thought patterns evolve outta the individualism and objectivism proposed by Ayn Rand.
I have to confess i came to your site , just to see some good fotos of yours..but your profile made me feel you are a lady with lotsa admirable qualities,and to be given more respect than i ever thought.
On the Srilankan Tamil issue,(Am a Tamilian) We feel Indian intervention is necessary. If there is no international intervention the genocide happening there would remove a race from the Srilankan soil for ever.
Also, considering Srilankan Tamils of different nationality is also wrong. The truth is those tamilians there got Even Indian govt in the past has acknowledged that SL Tamilians are of Indian Origins, and has given citizenship to some them who returned.So here we are not involved with issue of different nation, we are involved with issue of our people who are in different nation.
I feel some of your views are subject to change.
1) SL Tamil issue and POK issue are not the same. SL Tamils belong to a country whose govt is trying to eradicate their race forever. But Kashmir’s issue is totally different. I feel sorry for some people who don’t understnd that they both are different problems and just having a single minded answer to those problems.
2) If India has not intervened in Tibet/Bangaldesh issues those people would have been slammed to death long ego.
And i also like to point out that as India has not intervened in issues of Burma and Srilanka, the people there are slammed to death now!
3) Many agree many of India’s current problems are because of Indias confused stand in International arena regarding many international issues. India needs people with longterm thinking.
Examples are Indias stand on Israel-Palestine, Burma,Malaysian Indian issue.
However, I would be very happy if you happen to read my response and return a reply 🙂
That would have made my day !!
YO
Kasi Gupta aka K G
nidhish
hi gul !!
iam new to this blog ……..and i can tell some big matters are getting disused hear ,,so i just want to raise a new topic… the kashmir topic because as u are from kashmir gul u can help us more to understand this matter ….pakistan or to be more specific leaders of pakistan like musharaf says people of kashmir wants to be part of pakistan but indian government deny this thing the hole topic of war between pakistan and india is about kashmir
………as musharaf speaks in india today conclave he says that people of kashmir are not happy to be part of india ……….so gul i just want to ask u is that true that kashmir want to be separate or wants to be part of pakistan??????
Dr. Ajay
Very interesting to find a really thinking type person who otherwise associates with the Bollywood.
When USA (under Bush) entered Iraq, I called it “gundagardi” of the might is right type. Same thing it will be if we jump into the affairs of Sri Lanka univited by them.
Ajay
Bala
Gul,
What goes around, comes around. Its very important India engages Sri Lanka and ensures that that country remains peaceful which will also mean that the just concerns of Sri Lankan Tamils are addressed. India cannot afford to have non-pluralistic, non-open-society countries around it. India has some influence and it must use it. And pls note the Sri Lankan Tamils are denied their natural justice and rights because they are considered to be non-native .. immigrants from India. So whether India likes it or not ..it is a party in this.
Its pretty naive (shall I say that?) to suggest that engaging Sri Lanka is same as Pakistan’s proxy war in Kashmir. The means and ends of both pakistan and india are entirely different!
You’ve got a great blog here, would love to see more posts coming our way.
Cheers
Thejesh GN
It was good to see you on twitter 🙂
Sri
1st of all, I just happened to see your movie Dor and you have done a fabulous job. Then I ended up with your info on Wiki and finally to this site. And it was a pleasant surprise to see that you are talking about national issues. Great. To answer your question, what ever the lawyers did in tamilnadu for their brothers in Lanka was not justified. Come on with that yardstick we will allow Pak & Chian entry in Kashmir and Northeast. I understand their sentiments, if I was in their place I would have asked every tamil guy to come back to India. There is enough space here to adjust few lakh tamils. Enough bloodshed.
Many thanks for blogging. Do blog often.
Sri
Steve
Gul i must say that you are a beautiful and sexy and this transforms into your movies and makes you a great actor.
Coming back to your Topic on Tamils in Srilanka and the Indian government intervention , I must say that even thou the lawyers in tamilnadu are striking and requesting the government to stop the war in srilanka i personally think that this situation in srilanka has been going on for too long and at this time the Srilankana government has put its feet down and said that it is going to eliminate the LTTE which it is rightfully doing .
Any other government intervening and trying to stop this war is just going to delay this assault /war on the LTTE ,the government in srilanka have tried to negotiate and come to terms with the LTTE for many years but they have only come up problems year year after with the LTTE .Therefore even if the goverment of India intervenes in this war the government of srilanka wil not stop until they have totally eliminated the LTTE and this is not far away.
Pakistan has always wanted to occupy Kashmir and has never allowed Kashmir to remain at peace ,the Indian government has to have strong stand when it comes to Kashmir and not allow Pakistan to dominate or have any of its presence felt in Kashmir ,right now its only Politics that dominates Pakistan all political parties should stand united if we want Kashmir liberated from Pakistan .
Jai Hind !
Steve
Seemal
Hi there,
I am a great fan of yours and well a Pakistani. But that does not put any boundaries. I have been following politics since I left Pakistan 3 years back to study here in Canada. I cant wait to be done with studies and go back. I just thing all of this is just a big conspiracy. The politicians have the power to do anything they want to. Moreover, they can maintain peace but they do not. Loved you in Straight specially the line in the end when you say I’m not. Was great!
Keep up the good work.
Nisheel
Hi Gul -:)
Firstly congrats on getting more geeky and posting from your phone 😛
On the Sri-Lankan topic, while your viewpoint is good on India playing it’s role in the region both in terms of maintaining peace and now exerting it’s influence I think like many have commented, it’s best that they sort out their own problems. While we (India) may do what seems good to you me and thousands others….everytime a decision is taken, its not possible to please all. and with it comes the backlash.
Look what happened with the US and Iraq. They (US) keep going to other countries to supposedly keep USA safe yet all they do is create the “we hate USA” tag. To all of us on the sidelines throwing Saddam Huesain out of power and his sons was supposed to remove the supression of the people of Iraq and make them pay for all the poverty and hunger and rapes and murders. And to us on the outside was ….justice and a great plan.
Yet too all the thousands and thousands of citizens there now killed and the constant fighting, maybe even the brutal Saddam regime was better no ?
I think an internal uprising in countries are the best solution when there are problems at home. Bec it is a movement by the people built on frustration and then consolidated with hope.
Maybe I am wrong though !!! Time will tell ….
As for the Swiss bank accounts…who will bell the cat ? I guess the people in power to make that call and ask for it…are probably the ones with the most money in Switzerland !!!
Rohan
I DISAGREE with you Gul, when you say be it India or America spend a lot of money on space technology and defence. Is this research all about finding land out in space? No, it is not. Theres a lot more to it. It motivates young minds to explore and develop new things never see before. This research carried out in past only has given you,me this opportunity to communicate on global perspective. It is beacuse of research that NASA, ISRO conducts, computers are penetrating so much within us. I agree a lot of population does not get even to eat. But this change is possible and such technology can be a right tool to spread education in our country which has huge masses of children but fewer teachers an schools to teach. Newer developments is making this more and more accessible. I may sound like a student from some city, yes I am but I have also seen rural life lived their during my life with cousins in ratnagiri. A new school was started last year near the place where my grandparents stay with help of few persons who now live in mumbai but were born there. It uses video conferencing in marathi for primary medium. This was really startling to me when I first saw it, I couldnt beleive it was possible in such small place also. Dharavi has its own school opened by ‘art of living’ group. I read about it online and it has volunteer teachers who are emphaising on education, computer knowledge.
Remember, if it wasnt for Apollo mission that happened in 1960s when computers were first used, this new era wouldnt have been started. This is where development lies, employment lies, properity for our country lies and yound minds keep getting inspiration from figures like Dr. APJ Kalam, are motivated to go to school.
cheers,
Rohan.
Rohan
Thought of commenting this as a separate post.
Firstly, ms.musafir hoon yaaron’s traveller :), you look really pretty in ‘Straight’ and have acted really well. Gul, this new attire of long earrings, kurti fusion looks beautiful on u, gives a kashmiri touch to your looks. Keep it up. Vinay Pathak also has been very good. The last scene is kind of ironical when Vinay shys to do a stand up comedy..whereas in past he himself has been a such an amazing stand up comedian during the Great Indian Comedy Show on TV.. hehehe.
cheers again,
Rohan.
suraj
hi gul..
my self suraj, im studying in london
last night i saw ur latest movie straight.. and love it very much. very diffrent issue and u had a very good co star in this movie( mr vinay pathak). u was looking awosome in movie. best luck for u future..
take crae bye bye
Neeraj Agnihotri
Dear Gul,
I chanced upon your blog after googling your name. Just saw your really good performance in “Straight”. Liked the movie as a whole and yours and Vinay Pathak’s performance especially. I’ve had my schooling just like you in Kendriya Vidyalaya and actually you may have been my senior once.
As far as the Lankan problem is concerned, it is an internal matter of a sovereign country and as a responsible nation, India has no right to intervene politically or militarily. The only way we should be helping the hapless, innocent Tamilians caught in the crossfire should be with humanitarian aid.
Some elements in India helped LTTE to grow in its formative years, citing ethnic persecution of Tamils. The military intervention with IPKF and loss of scores of brave indian soldiers was for a cause, that was by all means -political.
Pakistan’s help to Kashmiri insurgency is a result of poor policies and the aim of successive Pakistani governments to keep the issue burning, so that they can have peace at home. India is far more responsible and better nation and stands to loose in the long run by meddling in a country’s internal affairs.
Would love to hear from you.
TC
Neeraj Agnihotri,NYC
SAHIR
RESPECTED AND SWEETEST GUL
HI MAM, HOW IS LIFE GOING. I AM VERY GLAD THAT I CAN SHARE MY FEELINGS WITH YOU ABOUT MONEY OF INDIA IN SWISS BANKS. YOU ARE VERY MUCH RIGHT THAT INDIA SHOULD ASK SWISS BANKS TO TELL ABOUT INDIAN ACCOUNTS THERE. I THINK SOME OF THE POLITICIANS MIGHT HAVE ALSO THEIR ACCOUNTS IN SWISS BANKS, THATS WHY THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT TAKING THE MATTER SERIOUSLY. IF THAT 15 TRILLION DOLLARS COME BACK TO INDIA, THEN MUCH OF THE POVERTY, RECESSION CAN BE REDUCED. MOREOVER I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT, ALMOST EVERY INDIAN PAYS INCOME TAX BECAUSE EVEN IF WE PURCHASE TOOTHPASTE AND A BATHING SOAP WE PAY THE TAX INCLUDED IN ITS COST PRICE. I AM SURPRICED WHY GOVRNMENTS SAY THAT PEOPLE DONT PAY TAXES.. WHERE ALL THAT MONEY GOES. MAM I THINK YOU SHOULD USE YOUR FAN FOLLOWING TO RAISE VOICE REGARDING SUCH PROBLEMS.
“GUL JI YOU ARE REALLY VERY DIFFERENT FROM OTHER FILMSTARS BECAUSE YOU THINK ABOUT SOCIAL PROBLEMS AND WANT TO DO SOMETHING REGARDIND THAT.I CAN SAY THAT YOU ARE ” BEAUTY WITH BRAINS”
I HAVE SEEN STRAIGHT, U HAVE DONE EXCILLENT WORK IN THAT AND YOU ARE LOOKING STUNNING.
YOU HAVE INTERNATIONAL LOOKS AND I AND ALL MY FRIENDS WISH THAT YOU SHOULD DO INTERNATIONAL FILMS. AN INTELLIGENT AND CONFIDENT AGENT CAN HELP YOU IN THAT. WISH YOU VERY GOODLUCK 4 UR CARRIER AND HAPPY LIFE.
I HOPE YOU WILL REPLY ME ON YOUR BLOG.
PLEASE SAY MY HELLO TO YOUR FAMILY AND GIVE MY RESPECT TO THEM.
REGARDS
SAHIR CHADHA(09256286399)
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
CHANDIGARH
Dev
I am really surprised to read this Blog. There is a preconcieved notion amongst many people that folks associated with films industry are…. well…a bit intellectually challenged. Here is Gul…some one who has completely destroyed that stereotype with the quaility of provocation and discussions on the blog. I so hope this is not ghost written. Must say the range displayed by you from Dor on the one end to the Maxim shoot on that other has no parallel. Keep goin
JImmy
Dear Gul,
I saw your interview the other day in youtube, one where u were sitting on red sofa. well I enjoyed that interview very much. What I like about you, is the way you think. You think like boys. I find it quite interesting. There are very few girls of that type. Though I am a boy (man) myself, I also keep a rational point of view on topics. The Srilankan problem must be left to Srilankans. Let them solve it. I believe supporting a terrorist group is always catastrophic. The cause might be noble but once the goal is achieved, they will look at other targets to quench their thirst. The same way Taliban did to US. The same way the Islamic militants from Kashmir are doing to Pakistan. According to me the only reason we have a stable democracy in India, which is a country filled with cultural and social difference, is because of the freedom struggle of India based on nonviolence and non cooperation. Only bilateral talks can lead to a consistent peace treaty. This might take some time, but is a sure shot.
Well I saw someone commenting on the huge amount of money spent on space program when a lot of people are dying of hunger.
Let me make it clear. If you take 100 poor people and give each one of them 10 lakh rupees, you will still find many of them below poverty line after 10 years. The point is only the sincere and hard working makes to the top. Poverty increases when children are born into poor families. There should be a rule that only people with salaries above a certain limit be allowed to make children. This may sound outrageous at first, but if thought upon will lead to irradiate poverty, as all the lazy and drunk guys will try to work hard and increase their standard of living.
The money spent on science should never be questioned until it is spent on its progress. The quest for knowledge should never be stopped. The very ipod which you are using is possible because of the satellites sent as a part of a space mission. The navigation system that we use was initially developed for defense purpose by US called GPS.
I strongly oppose the huge amount of money spent on defense related projects but I strongly support the money spent on research and development. 30 years back, if god had asked someone what all things he would like to have, he might not have imagined the world wide web-internet even in his wildest dreams. Most of the time people don’t know what they want unless they are shown a list of products which they might like. This is mainly because of the limitation of imagination. Man can think only till his brain can think. Knowledge is the only way by which the scope of his thoughts can be made wide. When ever there is an invention, the question a common man asks is what this will be used for? What are its applications? It is a very irrelevant question. Many of the uses emerge in course of time during the study of a field of science, history, or geography.
Jimmy
prasun kulshrestha
gul…i saw straight!.
DISAPPOINTED WITH MOVIE.
To start with, u r blessed with beuty & this time u won my heart, if u were not a super star, i would have proposed you, anyways, this is not the case :(. You are loooking awesome in movie.
But lets talk abt ur movie. i felt disappointing that y u go for such movies after doing movie like DOR??????
Is it just to work something with change in subject? i dont knw if u had any message to spread but Gul, i believe this genere of film is not for u. U must work for films that have higher approach, better stage to perform, better challenge to accept where people will say that ” GUL U CAN DO” and u will do to proove ur point. i hope u r understanding. it hardly matters if film is hit or flop., the key is the essence of indivisual that he / she leave. many a times i told u to take my script & proceess it, it can win an oscar on ur performance. though, giving my example and sorry for that, but i feel this indstry is experimenting on only mixtures that could be sold.
My suggestion to u is, look for something that says” GUL, its 2nd better stage to DOR” I could list many drawbacks & negetive things that y u should not do films like that, but i know many stars who feel angry if someone tell their negetive points. I always told you that i have something special to write, but no one liste may b bcoz u feel its not the correct way to tell my point. But honestly, i felt, whoever wrote STRAIGHt, i could bet that if someone make a film on my subject, it will be atleast 50 times better. Now, forget about me…lets talk abt u. I have not left any movie of u….i see every single movie of urs. Its because after DOR, i am expecting much of u. I dt knw how u take, but make it a point, u have beuty, u have potential, recheck ur previous works..u can do better performance then others. u are something who have to proove, but pls do not take anything cheap comedy or useless cinema like straigh. i respect your work what u did, also, i was very happy to see ur partners Mr. pathak and also others, acting was awesome But that was not the better stage.best luck, i know u may shouting on me gul, but this is wt i felt. I am sorry if i hurt u or demoralise u. U rock rock and rock gul. One day if i become any screenplay writer, i may b then blessed that i can talk with u once to tell that i was the one who was used to see dreams sitting on internet. Gul, i usually see this industry that its not for me coz i m not there. But , if anyhow i am there, my very first wish would be to talk with u atleast a minute. u guys r inspiration for me. I am a fan of two , AAMir & You. I regularly write my words on both of ur sites since two yrs. I hope, u reply for my so long essay. i wud b pleased if u can send me email if u like to. thans keep smiling
Debarshi Bhattacharya
Got ur scrap on orkut. Lemme start with “Wassup??”
jazz
Oh well… Miss Masters in Political Science, I dont have an idea about the whole sri lanka intervention thingie… But just googled “Gul Panag” right after watching Straight and found ur blog, Just wanna tell u… You are a stunner, And im gonna emulate ur look from ur movie 🙂 …The neckpieces, the bindi et al… Just fab.. And yes, yours and Vinay Pathak’s chemistry is really good in the movie..Hope to see you in more movies… And yeah I really thought YOU were the soul of the movie “Dor”… Seriously… 🙂
Goodluck for ur future.. Cheers
ds
Hey Gul,
Thanks for forwarding the website url. Interesting that you bring up this issue of lawyers in TN demanding the GoI to “intervene” (an interesting word). I am a criminologist and have these discussions in my classes on Terrorism. And no, such arguments are yet to impress upon me. I’m a firm believer that tolerance and justification of one kind of terrorism/violence/extremism creates room for another. And that is what I see in the TN lawyers’ demands. I feel that India as a nation, and people in general who are against such senseless acts of violence, lose every legitimacy if they start supporting those very actions in other parts of the world (or within India) based on regional, racial, or other preferences.
Cheers,
DS
Gul Panag
Hi guys!! Thanks for your posts. As you all know I am on twitter now and it gives me a means to remain connected even when I can’t blog. I was thrilled when I found a classmate from class 6, Debarshi on orkut( where I’ve totally stopped going). He looks different!
Hi Debarshi!!! Tried to find your email , yours is not exactly an uncommon name…:-) Where have you been? What do you do?
shaan shah
hey… Gul… I just wanted u to know u have several fans in the US… seriously… I believe u r the one of the most beautiful women in the world… and so do thousands of people in the US… Keep smiling… :)… Good Luck
Karna
Hey Gul, people from “Azad Kashmir” are not Kashmiri, they are mostly Punjabi/Pothwari people.” Most Kashmiris are from the Valley and hence on the “Indian” side. So your preface is not entirely correct. Secondly, you looked hot in Straight! 😉
anil_sawan
i guess having an open fight in tamil nadu for a subject which has jurisdiction in srilanka is absurd!
NiMaL
Hi Gul…
I happened to watch Straight today and you were awsome in it. Thought of dropping in to you web, as seems you are more of a teche, with updated blog and all 🙂
Would love to come back here for updates from your…
Good luck…
Abbas
Hi Gul! First-time visitor, and shall be back. Just wanted to say I love the commercial you worked on with Aamir Khan, you both made it very convincing (and funny!). Cheers.
rakesh
Hi Miss Panag:
Are you a punjabi sikh or a hindu jat or a parsi? All of my family is confused. I say you are a parsi, but others in my family differ. What do you say?
rakesh
Let us stay out of other internal affairs of other countries. Do not forget that LTTE recurited its cadres through terror and coercion. They did not even spare their own tamil people. And do not forget LTTE murdered Rajiv Gandhi. LTTE also fought against IPKF in 1987. So they are no friend of India.
Let us learn from our own past mistakes and not repeat them again.
Let Sri Lankan government settle its own problems.
Peace.
Gul Panag
Don’t know where to start.I’ll answer the personal one first. I am an Indian . And that’s the only way I think of my self. I was born in to a Sikh family, so after being an Indian, I guess u can describe me as a sikh from rural Punjab. I hail from a village called Mahadian( Dist FatehgarhSaheb).
I don’t think I have the answer to the Kashmir trouble. That’s the reason I discuss these issues here. I do feel however that any political solution which doesn’t take into account the economic alleviation of the people will be ineffective.
As far as Srilanka is concerned, I feel India must respect the sovereignity of a democratically elected government. India should not take up the cause of the Tamils living in Srilanka once again. We met with a bloody defeat the last time. The Sri lankan army has carried out, what appears to be a successful end to a very old and bloody insurgency. The present protests by the DMK are nothing but an attempt to cash in on the pro Tamil( understandably) sentiment at election time.
The Muslims in Pakistan and some other Islamic contries perceive that the Indians Muslims are being discriminated against and are persecuted along with being denied their basic rights. In the same way the Indian Tamils feel that the Srilankan Tamils are denied natural justice and their rights.The Sri Lankan government doesn’t feel there is any discrimination in Srilanka and the Indian governent feels the same way about the perceived discrimination in India. Yet one finds Muslims in India and Tamils in Srilanka relatively disadvantaged. The truth lies somewhere in between. The LTTE seige of the 17 sq km territory of pudukudiyirippu, should end in a surrender with safe passage being allowed to all the civilians being used as human shields.The only person who will be responsible for civilian casualties will be Prabhakaran if he doesn’t not allow safe passage to the civilians. Only once the surrender has been effected can the government sit across the table with the Tamils and discuss issues at hand including autonomy.
I am indeed amazed at the calibre of posts. I am priviliged to have you all post here.
Prasun, I enjoyed every moment of Straight. And my decision to do a film is never objective. It can’t be. I can’t think of how a film will be received before deciding to go ahead with it. Lastly, any work of art: a painting , a scilpture or a film will be liked by some and disliked by some. I know many who don’t luke Hussein’s art. And others who love it. It’s impossible for an artist to be able to justify his art to some one.
Bye for now guys. Keep writing:)
Gul
Pks
hi Gul,
just wanted to make a small comment about the Tamils issue. being a sri lankan Tamil living in the southern part of the island, i do have different idea than yours.
intervention of India or any others is not going to solve this problem for sure. the only change by defeating ltte will be defeating ltte and its not “the solution” for the problems of Tamils here. as a person living here i could sense that the majority here do have the feeling that Tamils don’t belong to this land, and thus even the defeat of ltte will not be the end of solution, it will be the beginning of another.
only two solution i see.
1. Change in mindsets of the majority 2. Mass migration
don’t see 1 happening in near future, thus 2 seems ok with me…!!!
(And I’m being Anonymous just for my personal safety 🙂 )
Gul Panag
Dear PKS
Thank you for your comments. I agree with you, the solution is not simple and the matter will not be over even after the surrender/demise of LTTE unless the majority Sinhalese do not sit and address the problems faced by the Tamils. And unless the aspirations of the Tamils are met, a few years from now a protest movement will start again. May be the solution is a Srilankan administered autonomous region?
P.S.Don’t worry you are safe here. I promise I will not discuss you in my next meeting with Mr Rajapaksa:-)