Gul Panag on biases in Bollywood: Everywhere it’s as fair or unfair as you want to see it

Gul Panag says Bollywood is a good work place to begin with. Reacting to conversations around the unfairness in the industry, the actor draws attention to how “people from nowhere have made a career for themselves” here.

“The fact that opportunity exists and let you become who you are should also be remembered. Yes people associated with film families always have access. Today, if someone wants to follow his/her parent’s profession doesn’t mean others who’re talented and looking to make it to the same field can’t do it. So it’s exhausting to hear people constantly complain even after having made it,” she shares.

Panag goes on to add that one might get an extra opportunity for the access they have but “that’s not the be all and end all”.

She continues, “Nothing helps if you don’t have talent. They’re some who might be getting it easy but will they be able to take the legacy forward or shine? Not unless they’re capable. This is same in every profession. So everywhere it’s as fair as you want to see it and as unfair as you want to see it,” says the actor, whose has been praised for her performances in her 2020 web projects, Pawan and Pooja and Paatal Lok.

This year she has starts shooting for a film, a legal drama, and has two more projects lined up. Working simultaneously in web and films, Panag is enjoying the ride. However, she doesn’t put one above the other.

“Both of these are director’s medium and my job as an actor remains the same. So it doesn’t matter to me, neither does how big or small my role is. What matters is if the story is incomplete without my character,” she explains.

While both films and web are different mediums, Panag feels the latter lets people think outside the box. “In defiance to commercial cinema, here script is the star and it caters to everyone’s interest. Sophisticated tools on OTT curates content according to people’s likings… Also, those actors, directors, writers, editors, who weren’t getting scope earlier, now have enough work,” she says.

However, Panag says the all round change can only happen when the audience changes. “I don’t think the audiences actually held the hands of interesting choices in terms of cinema. Going to a movie is still a family outing. And films that make the biggest box office collection are family entertainers… So we need the audience to open up too,” she ends.

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Author tweets @Shreya_MJ