Was very very tied up last few weeks working on an untitled film for Prakash Jha Productions. Tried to stay in touch on twitter and became an addict! Here’s a quick update.
The first thing I’d like to talk about is my recent “good” experiences with Jet. Have flown Jet (bad food incident not with standing, I only travel Jet) a couple times since the said incident and have found service and hospitality of the highest standard:-) In the midst of my hectic filming schedule I had to make a two-day trip to London for work. I have to say that the best sleep I had in weeks was on board the JET flight to and fro from London. My accumulated fatigue from weeks of filming went away considerably after my onboard experience on the flight. From the warm smiles of the cabin crew to food, everything was heartening.
Have since flown domestic a few times, came back from Chandigarh two days back and was happy with my experience (meal portions are still small though).
I am overwhelmed by the response on Twitter. It keeps growing and growing. It’s a great stress buster for me and a wonderful way to remain connected. Not to mention the unadulterated voicing of opinions.
I was happy to see the Delhi High Court decriminalize homosexuality despite wide spread protests (they have accepted a PIL against the order which worries me though). I think sexuality is a very private matter and neither the state not the society should interfere in it.
I wish the Union budget had delivered on its long pending promise of ‘one rank one pension’ to the armed forces. It saddens me no end to see our country show such little respect and regard for the very people they expect to lay down their lives in times of a threat to National Security. Infact where are these people now, who vociferously questioned the efficiency of the forces in the 26/11 attack? Do they really expect the forces to fight for them when the country repeatedly lets down the Defense forces???
The rains in Mumbai gladden the heart, I wish though the BMC would not plan to dig up the roads during monsoons. I plan to check out the Bandra Worli Sea Link soon!
More later. Bye for now.
Neha Kapoor
First to comment! 😛
Neha Kapoor
or am i? :O
Ketan
Most of our Domestic carriers are excellent on Intl trips! 🙂
Section 377 back in debate sadly:(
noopur
its always nice 2 listen 2 ur updates…ur dwn 2 earth atti is wt i adore!
Saurabh
Hi GUL,
So i m the first one to comment on ur long wait blog.
Yes Toomuch for article 377, i have to say now that baba ramdev has become a centre of all gay jokes as he has lost it all/
They compare that animal donot do tats why it shud not be allowed. then i have just to mention that animal also donot ride cars, donot use phone call niether they do wear cloths. and above all they sleep with their family members 😉
so where is the point for the PIL.. its a weak case..
anyway
keeep twittin
Saurabh
Max
Interesting blog / opinions.
Twitter is a real addiction. Since I was on 3 weeks leave, I really started spending a lot of time on twitter. Now from tomorrow I start my work weeks. I will be able to come online after all the action (tweets) get light. Let’s see if I survive 🙂
Take care and God Bless.
Pramod Viswanath
Following you on twitter – you have a very hectic schedule, despite that you keep up with lots of things!! Great going and enjoyed the read 🙂
Cheers
Kartik
Yeah, I am following you on twitter and it does seem like you are really liking it with a lot of updates within a few minutes.
Ashok
My take on legalizing homosexuality – I am little unsure whether it is right or wrong. Agreed upon, that sexuality is private but I think this is going to leave a very bad taste in our mouth.
I have been following you on twitter, its great. Good work….!!!
NiMaL
We all not know that you are one of those big time Twitter addicts… 🙂
(I’ve been following you from some time… and overwhelmed with your tweets, sometimes)
I would agree with you in the Delhi High Court verdict, and I see this as a change that would bring in much more attention to this issue. I feel that for so long our societies influence in one’s private life, and sometimes it goes too much.
By the way is that film still “untitled”… 🙂
NiMaL (talkout)
Aditya
Hiiiii, Gul that was a short preci of your long tour…… am very very glad to hear u taking a note of the armed forces…I mean they r the ones who lay their lives for us ….and we dont show any respect to them ……the unsung faceless hero The Indian Soldier is not given his due ….and credit i belive our govt isnt doing enough to counter terrorism post 26/11 attacks. We as citizens ,netizens should take up the matter strongly with the govt…..
Rohan Mahadik
I agree on the defense forces part and felt the same way after reading your comment. Apart from the pension, the salaries of the jawans, who form major portion of our defence forces, are also very low for the kind of work they deliver. I recollected an incident of my train journey with a young jawan in his early twenties. He never complained about it but I while talking to him I realised the non-officer army personnel are paid meagres. Yet he was so happy to be in the army, even when his family’s financial condition was terrible and they didn’t want him to join. I remember I had suggested him to find out about the entrance examinations and to study so that he can rise to officer ranks.
kshitij
hmm..its good to c you on twitter..though i had hardly replied any of your post, you seem to be getting more addicted with each passing day..:) ..and so true about the defence personnel, they are are remembered only during war times…(take dhoop incident for an example)…its a tough job being there knowing that there is actually no one to care for your family after you..lets hope things will change someday…
keep tweeting 🙂
tejas
Hey dear…..good to c u back after quite long time…. take care of ur health and keep smiling….we love you…
Chanakya Sharma
Came to know your twitter account from HT, Delhi edition and about your blog from your twitter account. It’s really nice to see you being so regular and sharing your views.
Seriously twitter is very addictive and my friends who are not on twitter always asks me abt it nd wonder whats so existing abt it but it is very difficult to make dem understand….
Keep blogging and happy twitting…
Sandip Wadje
Good to see you back. I agree with your view that “sexuality is a very private matter and neither the state not the society should interfere in it” but at the same time it is very important there is no public display of it e.g. tomorrow the so called “gay supporters” will say that now you have decrimanalized this, now allow us to get married in public. And I am 100% confident that the so called “gay supporters” across the globe some day would stand up and say “there is nothing bad in insest”. So where do we stop?
midhun
Hi Gul,
It’s good to see you back on your blog. Thank you for the new post.
Good to see you on Twitter, but you post a little too often and sometimes it’s tough to keep track.
First of all, the Delhi HC has not decriminalized homosexuality. It has decriminalized conensual homosexuality.
An extract from the judgment:
“We declare that Section 377 IPC, insofar it criminalises consensual sexual acts of adults in private, is violative of Articles 21, 14 and 15 of the Constitution. The provisions of Section 377 IPC will continue to govern non-consensual penile non-vaginal sex and penile non-vaginal sex involving minors. By ‘adult’ we mean everyone who is 18 years of age and above. A person below 18 would be presumed not to be able to consent to a sexual act. This clarification will hold till, of course, Parliament chooses to amend the law to effectuate the recommendation of the Law Commission of India in its 172nd Report which we believe removes a great deal of confusion.”
No doubt, it’s a step in progress with the times. Society should not interfers in private matters. However, there is cause for worry due to risks of STD. Besides, isn’t there some sense in the argument that nature did not intend man for homosexual activities, and therefore, it is against nature?
I agree 100% with you on the one rank one pension issue. Talking about the army, what do you think about celebrities being given the honorary title of “Lt. Col.”? Kapil Dev and Mohanlal have been awarded so.
Midhun
francis
Hello gul
All the best for your future projects, Take care……
Francis
Giriraj
Hey,
Do u remember u had to write about SCRAPPING of 10TH STD EXAMS??? We had discussed about it on Twitter..
Regards,
Giriraj
Sak
Gul,
Decriminalization of homosexuality by the High Court is nothing but a matter of shame. it just goes on to show how we are blindly aping the West with little or no concern to our situation.
While I absolutely loved and adored you in the movie ‘Straight’, carrying over such a theme into practical life makes me shudder as to where we are headed as a society. (Male lovers in OVER-crowded Mumbai trains is the LAST thing we need!)
Again, the moral arguments notwithstanding, bottom line remains that nature did not intend for people to blindly experiment with sex in such a frivolous manner. The term sexual preference is outright ridiculous given that procreation was, is, and remains sole intent of sex. (Of course, the pleasure obtained ought to be within moral boundaries, surely making it all the more fun). We walk this path and diseases worse than AIDS are sure to haunt us for the simple reason that nature cannot be fought with.
I am not a purist, neither am I a fanatic nor some hardcore religious zealot. I am as liberal as any level-headed person can be.
However, when this Gul Panag – whom I so adore; who is so intelligent, pretty and well-read; who carries herself off with such confidence and panache – states that she is open about same sex, it really makes me wonder where we are headed. Not only as a society but also as a community.
Your ardent fan,
Sak
ashwin
hi gul, if u get a chance to read this it wud be very nice. anyways congrats for ur new movie(yet 2 b titled). one more thing i don’t know wht’s the whole issue with travelling made on ur blogs? i think in india i feel there’s very little population who travel on airplanes..have u ever thought abt the people who travel by trains? ha ha…it’s a really nice contrast to so-called air travellers. anyways this is wht i thought. hope u consider these factors as well when this issue comes up again. thnks. luv. ashu.
prasun kulshrestha
Hey GUl…nice to see you again! well prakash jha productions haaa???? wow! i guess you are completely concern to valued art & performance. I simply love everyy film he make… i hope gul, u perform fantastic as ever…..and yes, i will make sure that i book my first day first show…god bless gul
Faisal Khan
Hi Gul,
Virtue is not restricted to rejecting things, but virtue often also lies in the things that we embrace. No child is ugly to a mother. Similarly no heavenly creation can be sinister. Who are we then to question the morality of sexual choices. Ganga is mother to all; the billionairs and the poor, the ITT graduates and the “C” grade students, to Hindus and to the muslims, and to who are “straight” and to those who are “obtuse”.
Gul, you too have a gift of accepting people in our life. All of your films reveal this part of your personality. Your movies remind me of Amol Palekar and Basu Chatterjee movies of the seventies. That old world charm.
May your coming movies be blessed with creative success.
Harish Krishnan
Hey Gul,
I have been trying to get in touch with you. I am with Blogadda, India’s largest community of blogs and bloggers. We would like to interview you as you r a top blogger and our interviews are read tens and thousands of users. DO mail me back!
sandeep
hi gul mam i am big fan of your’s ……pls reply mam
Asa Kumar
Hey GP. Found u on twitter as i was going thru PC’s and started following u. Wish u all d best and keep smiling !
Arsh
Hey Gul,
Its interesting to read your blog & tweets. Infact its actually refreshing to find a pretty lady in the profession where looks & performance matter, have a mind of her own…. Keep up the flow of words & thoughts.
On Jet Airways, I think they aren’t half as bad in their International flights, but at times do major goof ups in their domestic flights.
shishir
Hi Gul,
how are you.. i am big fan of yours…
Thanks
Tobin Joseph
Hi Gul, I surf a site called santabanta and saw your pics from the TBZ Shaze Collection Launch. I thought to myself, “let me google this easy breezy girl with the nice smile” and found your webpage! i honestly don’t watch bollywood movies that much, but i guess i’ll have to check yours out now, lol! so which one should i see first? i like any and all kind of movies, but don’t have the time cause i’m in med school, but i can make an exception! allright then, peace out fly girl 😉
gourav kapoor
hi gul u are very good actress and i loved ur work in dor…u were awwwwwwsome…. amd astonishing in your beauty nad simpli city,,,, you are havin the killing looks one . woman needs…. .. tht’s all sweety… givin .my email…mail….. contaqct me if possible…and plzzz update me if u have a visit in delhi..
tariq
hi gul I m a big fan of you and I always try to watch ur movies several times …
i like your smiles and dimple so much , i have no words to describe of your beauty ….
thanks
tariq
sundaram
haha that was a cute thing to share wit…ur onboard experience i mean..thats like a lil child wose relly tired playin all day….dear gul…its nt that u work long ….have that in u that u r more important than anyone else atleast to u….take good care of ur sleep to avoid any dark circles under ur eyes..lady….:)
Bhavesh
Hi…Gul….
GUL in your name there is a feel of Flower…the purity,the mildness,the softness and a feel of freshness.
I hope really you r as your Name GUL reflects..
One word for you—- “Beauty without virtue is like a rose without scent.”
you have the beauty with virtue.
My best wishes r with you….
Fragment the world with you Fragrance ….Fragrance of your Name ;Talent and your feelings.
Your’s
Bhavesh@HCL
Irfan Khan
Hi There!
I saw 2 of ur movies….Straight and Dor. I didnt know abt You nor ur name 2 days ago. Anyhow, then I searched abt U online and found ur webpage.
I wish U good luck
rajat
You need to post more than once a week to have any hope of attracting readers to your blog.Daily posting are even better : a simple rule of thumb . 😀
nil
hey gul;…..big for of urs…..coz of all the things u do…..u r a true persona……….keep up the good work and keep letting all ur fans on tidbits of ur life
Abhimanyu
U r very down to earth….. really luv ur updates….. keep posting……..
Abhinandan
Hi
Furst timer on ur blog,really always have been fans of urs from the days of Dor.luv u