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Gul reinvented

Versatile ways Gul Panag

What do you call a beauty pageant winner who begins her career in a totally non-glam avatar, then goes in for a sexy makeover and keeps her audience guessing all the while? Besides Gul Panag, you call her versatile, of course.

Mostly in the news this year for her dare-to-bare cover shoots and for playing Aamir Khan’s wife in the popular Tata Sky commercials, Gul is having a great time. “Yes, in that sense I have come full circle. I have done serious cinema, established myself as an actor, done my mag shoots, red carpet appearances, and managed to surprise every time. That’s essential for an actor,” she says.

Gul’s awaiting the release of her film “Straight” with Vinay Pathak, in which she plays a caricature artist who moonlights as an accountant.The film is about Peenu Patel, a London-based restaurateur with confused ideas about his sexuality. There is also a much-talked about onscreen kiss with Vinay. “When don’t I have an onscreen kiss in my movies?” she asks. “In almost every film, I have had one. I am very comfortable with it.”

But this girl’s not giving anybody an opportunity to slot her into a stereotype. “It’s the insecurity of an actor that spurs me to do something different every time. The skill is to seamlessly adapt myself from a ‘Dor’ to a ‘Manorama Six Feet Under’ to a ‘Maxim’.”

Her chemistry with Aamir Khan in ads has fuelled speculation about the two acting together in films. “That could be a possibility in the near future though I can’t confirm anything right now.”

After “Straight” with director Parvati Balagopalan, Gul will be seen in Parvati’s next film “Phir Zindagi”. There is “Hello Darling”, a comedy, and “A Rectangular Love Story”. The actress has also been signed up for RGV’s “Rann” next to Amitabh Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh.

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