‘I Have To Excel In Everything I Do’

‘My
two
life
mantras
are
prioritisation
and
compartmentalisation.’
‘Prioritisation
allows
you
to
put
one
thing
over
the
other
and
compartmentalisation
to
focus
on
one
priority
at
a
time.’

“In
our
patriarchal
society,
there
is
a
Renu
in
every
middle-class
household
but
we
don’t
realise
this
till
she
holds
up
the
mirror,”


Gul
Panag
says
of
her
character
in

Paatal
Lok
2.

It’s
a
character
she
knows
well,
since
she’s
done
a
version
of
it
before.
Gul
tells



Rediff.com
Senior
Contributor

Roshmila
Bhattacharya,
“Sudip
(Paatal
Lok
showrunner
Sudip
Sharma),
who
has
worked
with
Navdeep
(Singh,
Writer-Director,
Manorama
Six
Feet
Under,
which
Gul
acted
in),
has
admitted
that
Nimmi’s
character
was
the
inspiration
for
Renu.
Renu
is
an
older
Nimmi
and
since
she
was
played
by
an
older
Gul,
I
was
more
collaborative
in

Paatal
Lok.”

Besides
being
an
actress
and
producer,
you
are
also
a
licensed
pilot,
a
half-marathon
runner,
a
biker,
a
racing
car
driver,
a
fitness
advocate,
a
public/motivational
speaker,
a
social
and
health
activist
and
an
entrepreneur.
Where
do
you
find
the
time,
energy
and
motivation
to
do
all
the
things
you
do
and
more?

I’m
a
polymath.

It’s
a
term
that
defines
someone
who
is
highly
competent
and
knowledgeable
across
several
disciplines,
which
is
different
from
being
a
Jack
of
all
trades.

Actually,
many
of
us
are
polymaths
because
human
beings
by
default
are
good
at
multiple
things,
but
societal
conditioning
and
division
of
labour
holds
us
back.

If
we
don’t
explore
other
dimensions,
it’s
simply
because
we
are
conditioned
by
society
to
stick
to
one.

But
you
didn’t…

No,
I
realised
very
early
that
I
could
be
good
at
many
things
and
that
I
wanted
to
explore
all
the
different
dimensions
of
my
personality.

That’s
what
prompted
me
to
get
a
pilot’s
licence
and
run
an
enterprise
while
being
an
actress
liked
for
some
performances.

After
my
son
was
born,
I
even
went
back
to
school
to
get
a
law
degree.

I
feel
privileged
to
be
in
an
empowered
position
in
this
eco-system
wherein
I’m
allowed
to
explore
everything.

I
don’t
want
to
just
dabble
in
things,
I
have
to
excel
in
everything
I
do.

The
idea
of
going
back
to
school
was
not
just
to
get
a
law
degree,
but
to
finish
among
the
top
three
in
my
class,
which
I
did.

This
desire
to
explore
and
chase
excellence
in
whatever
I
do
makes
me
a
polymath.

What
is
it
that
you
enjoy
most?

It’s
what
I’m
doing
at
the
moment,
right
now
it’s
this
conversation.

When
I’m
running
the
Mumbai
Marathon,
that
is
the
most
rewarding
experience.

When
I’m
sitting
in
a
plane,
I’m
grateful
I
have
the
means
to
do
so
rather
than
have
to
travel
by
train
or
bus.

When
I’m
riding
a
bike,
that
brings
me
the
greatest
joy.

When
I’m
with
my
son,
there
is
nothing
more
fulfilling.

How
do
you
manage
to
do
so
much?

My
two
life
mantras
are
prioritisation
and
compartmentalisation.

Prioritisation
allows
you
to
put
one
thing
over
the
other
and
compartmentalisation
to
focus
on
one
priority
at
a
time.

Right
now,
my
priority
is
to
be
with
my
son
and
I’m
grateful
acting
and
entrepreneurship
allow
me
the
opportunity
to
do
so.

Friends
my
age
who
are
in
leadership
positions
in
companies
have
to
be
at
work
for
a
large
part
of
the
day
while
I
can
be
a
fulltime
mother
and
still
do
all
the
things
I
enjoy.

I
view
every
moment
of
my
life
with
appreciation
and
I’m
grateful
to
my
acting
career
for
giving
me
the
platform
to
do
all
this.

From
that
point
of
view,
how
would
you
evaluate
your
evolution
as
an
actress
over
16
episodes
of

Paatal
Lok?

Well,
Renu
has
definitely
grown
from
Season
One
to
Season
Two
because
I’ve
grown
as
a
human
being
too
and
so
was
able
to
contribute
more
to
my
craft.

Ultimately,
acting
is
an
amalgamation
of
all
your
life’s
experiences
and
your
ability
to
contextualise
them
in
that
moment
for
the
character
you
are
playing.

Five
years
ago,
I
wouldn’t
have
been
able
to
play
Renu
the
way
I
have
today
because
I
didn’t
have
these
life’s
experiences
then.
To
be
able
to
bring
them
into
play
today
summarises
my
growth
as
an
actress.

Having
said
that,
I
have
to
acknowledge
that
this
journey
of
growth
started
with
phenomenal
writing.

What
distinguishes
Sudip
(Paatal
Lok
showrunner
Sudip
Sharma)
from
his
peers
is
that
he
has
written
about
things
we
see
but
choose
to
unsee
with
so
much
depth
and
so
many
layers.

We
regularly
give
a
short
shrift
to
the
smaller
details
in
story-telling
because
carving
them
out
is
so
time-consuming.

But
when
they
are
there,
since
this
is
a
visual
medium,
you
can
add
layers
to
your
character
through
the
way
she
walks,
talks
and
dresses.

A
hat-tip
to
Avinash
(Avinash
Arun,
director
of
Paatal
Lok
Season
Two)
too
for
taking
Sudip’s
writing
from
paper
to
the
screen.

Also,
I
had
the
privilege
of
sharing
the
screen
with
a
once-in-a-generation
actor,
Jaideep
Ahlawat,
for
whom
this
show
has
been
a
game-changer.

With
all
the
support
around
me,
all
that
I
had
to
do
was
portray
Renu
as
honestly
as
Gul,
without
reacting
as
Gul
would
to
a
situation
because
she
is
not
limited
by
circumstances
like
Renu.

With
the
wealth
of
experiences
behind
you,
how
would
you
rate
your
performance
in
your
debut
film

Dhoop?

Dhoop
was
the
very
best
I
could
have
done
at
the
time.

I
was
around
23-24
when
I
played
Pihu,
a
girl
in
her
20s
who
despite
the
heartbreak
of
losing
her
fiancé,
chooses
to
stand
by
his
family.
In
my
innocence,
I
saw
the
world
in
two
dimensions
too.

That’s
why
casting
to
age
is
so
important.
A
35
year
old
would
never
be
able
to
capture
the
naivete
of
a
20
year
old.

I
also
had
the
privilege
of
working
with
Om
Puri,
Revathy
and
Sanjay
(Suri),
and
if
you
are
observant,
you
can
pick
up
so
much
from
these
seasoned
artists.

Today,
I
would
have
delved
a
little
deeper
into
the
grief
Pihu
feels
knowing
that
while
the
terrible
feeling
of
loss
will
never
go
away,
it
does
get
bearable
with
time.

But
Pihu
and
Gul
wouldn’t
have
known
this
at
that
age
not
having
experienced
life
like
Renu
or
Gul
today
has.

What
about

Dor?

During

Dor
too,
I
had
nothing
to
bring
to
the
table
except
my
competence
in
following
directions
to
the
very
best
of
my
ability.

So
I
put
myself
completely
in
Nagesh’s
(Kukunoor,
Director)
hands.

Cinema,
unlike
theatre,
is
a
director’s
medium,
and
you
should
respect
their
vision.

So
when
did
the
growth
curve
change?

Manorama
Six
Feet
Under
happened
just
six-seven
months
after

Dor,
but
during
that
film,
there
was
a
sudden
spurt
of
growth
in
me
as
an
actress.

That
is
why
technically,
Nimmi
in

Manorama
Six
Feet
Under
is
a
better
performance
than
Zeenat
in

Dor.

Interestingly,
Sudip,
who
has
worked
with
Navdeep
(Singh,
writer-director,
Manorama
Six
Feet
Under),
has
himself
admitted
that
Nimmi’s
character
was
the
inspiration
for
Renu.

Renu
is
an
older
Nimmi
and
since
she
was
played
by
an
older
Gul,
I
was
more
collaborative
in

Paatal
Lok.

How
so?

To
give
a
small
example,
Renu
did
not
use
English
words
in
the
script
originally.

But
while
brainstorming
during
the
readings,
I
suggested
to
Sudip
and
Avinash
that
since
Renu
is
aspirational
despite
being
stuck
in
a
particular
socio-economic
class,
she
would
use
English
words
where
Hindi
words
would
suffice.

So,
instead
of

bhai,
she
says
‘brether’,
which
is
how
people
in
that
part
of
the
world
speak
English.

I
could
bring
such
nuances
to
my
performance
thanks
to
my
life’s
experiences.

Between

Manorama
Six
Feet
Under
and

Paatal
Lok
are
there
any
other
performances
which
are
as
satisfying?

(Thoughtfully)
I
would
say

Turning
30.

Even
after
15
years,
young
girls,
and
even
young
boys,
walk
up
to
say
that
the
2011
film
still
resonates
with
them.

I
guess,
it’s
because
30
year
olds
are
grappling
with
the
same
issues
even
today.

That
film
is
Alankrita’s
(Shrivastava,
writer-director)
calling
card.

Another
very
satisfying
performance
is
Saloni.

Commanding
officer
Saloni
Bhatt
from

The
Family
Man?

That’s
right.
At
the
recent
wrap
party
of
Season
3
of

The
Family
Man,
many
who
had
seen

Paatal
Lok
pointed
out
how
different
Renu
is
from
Saloni.

On
my
part,
I’m
grateful
for
the
opportunity
to
play
such
diverse
characters
and
make
them
believable.

Unlike
Renu
who
is
nothing
like
Gul,
playing
Saloni
came
naturally
to
me
since
I’m
from
the
same
eco-system
having
been
born
into
the
armed
forces.

Like
Avinash,
directors
Raj
(Nidimoru)
and
(Krishna)
DK
have
been
very
receptive
to
suggestions
and
collaborative
partners.