In the film Dor, actor Gul Panag played Zeenat, a woman who takes on the mission of protecting the life of her husband, who is on trial for murder.
Dor was just her third picture, but for actor Gul Panag, the film, which was released on this day 15 years ago, remains a significant part of her resume since it demonstrated her hunger for high-quality filmmaking.
Zeenat, played by the actress, is tasked with protecting the life of her husband, who is facing murder charges.
“It had occurred to me that it had already been 15 years. It’s a watershed moment for a variety of reasons. It defined the environment in which I would work in the future. Not that I didn’t have a clear idea of which films I wanted to be a part of. Dor, on the other hand, was a reassurance that my decisions were proper. Panag says of the Nagesh Kukunoor-directed film, “Choosing a course that is faithful to what you believe in pays you at some degree.”
It was also not the type of picture that many female performers were undertaking at the time, especially those who were just starting out in their careers. The 42-year-old says she wanted to avoid doing mundane jobs and is happy to have Dor on her cv.
“Everyone told me that as an ex-Miss India, I should stick to the traditional aspects and go for the low-hanging fruit and do something simple. ‘Why do you want to hike uphill when you can walk downhill?’ they said. But Dor definitely set the tone for the types of characters I’d go on to do later,” she says. “As amazing as it is to be a part of this film, there was a temptation to do films that everyone else was doing, films that would give me a more instantly recognizable face,” she explains.
Panag, on the other hand, is pleased she didn’t go that route. “I simply knew what kind of film I wanted to be a part of. I wanted movies to help me develop as a person and raise my social status. The movie demonstrated that it is feasible to do so. It reinforced that this is the route I want to take and the genre I want to explore,” she concludes.
