Gul Panag Wants To Play An ‘Interestingly Written Antagonist’ In Bollywood – Exclusive
Gul Panag recently premiered her short film Aloo Bhujia, not as an actor, but a producer at MAMI. Featuring Rannvijay Singha and Arnav Maggo in pivotal roles, Aloo Bhujia is all about perceptions and relationships. Gul, who believes being an actor is easier than producing a film, in an exclusive interview with Zoom revealed what does she want to do next, Aloo Bhujia and the validation that film festivals offer.
Talking to Zoom, when asked which is tougher – acting or production, Gul confessed, “I feel being producer is way tougher. There’s so much you need to cater to and take care about when putting a project together.”
According to Gul, “being an actor is a very privileged job and role”. One needs to show up and “somebody’s already done everything that needs to be done.”
“You show up and do one part out of the many parts that are taking place on a set, from lighting to camera work to art design to direction, you’re just one part of it, and for that you get so much love and so much adulation. And therefore, I think being an actor is a very big privilege.”
However, as per Gul, being a producer, “is making sure all those different parts come together. Including the multiple roles taken on by the actors, all the departments and teams – putting all those things together is what a producer’s job is.”
The actress who was last seen in Zwigato however, wants her career graph to show considerable evolution.
“I would like to play an interestingly written antagonist,” Panag, who has been seen in fiolms like Dhoop, Dor, Ab Tak Chhappan 2 revealed. She went on to add, “In this day and age of film making, we no longer call them villains, because no hero is white and no villain is fully black. So I’m really looking for a character that’s grey where I can play a part that I’ve yet not played.”
As for turning producer with Aloo Bhujia, Gul revealed they developed the project from scratch and that it was written by a “very capable young writer” Utkarsh.
“My goal through this project was to examine the complex relationship between adults and their parents and I think Utkarsh has done a fabulous job of developing it and flushing it out into a very engaging story.”
Gul also showered appreciation for Rannvijay Singha and Arnav Maggo who, according to her, “have taken a leap of faith and become part of this very radical new format of short film that we are premiering with Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films.”
“This is a much shorter film than the usual that I’ve made in the past, be it Disconnected or be it Manoranjan which received so much love. The idea is to try to cater to the constantly shrinking attention spans of people,” she explained.
Last seen in Zwigato, what next for Gul Panag the actress?
“There’s another project with Ashish Aryan that I’ve done and Sunil Grover that I’m really looking forward to. It’s very topical and deals with the way the online world is invading the offline world and it’s something that I’m looking forward to sharing with audiences very soon,” she signed off.
