The hotter side of Gul Panag

Former Miss India Gul Panag, mostly seen in de-glamorised acting roles, recently caught public attention by posing in a black lingerie for the cover page of Maxim, a magazine for men. Gul said she did it to show off the 'glamorous and real side' of her personality.

'It was not for a change in my image. I am very happy to have the image that I have. I am associated with a certain type of work and I don't want to change that ever. But what is important is that people should understand that what they see on screen and what I am are two different persons,' said Gul.

Gul has received critical acclaim for playing offbeat roles in films like 'Dor' and 'Manorama Six Feet Under', in which she was seen mostly in Indian attire.

'In reality, I am not that kind of person as shown in most of my films. I am not a village girl clad in 'saris' and 'salwar-kameez' in real life. I am a regular modern girl who is glamorous in real life and that's what I wanted to show. In fact, nobody has ever seen me in 'saris' and 'salwar-kameez' in real life,' said Gul who debuted with Parth Arora's Dhoop in 2003.

'I can look good in a bikini or any other sexy outfit or equally convincing in a nightie. That's the job of an actor,' she added.
Commenting upon her roles, she said: 'I believe that I'm extremely versatile as I can do power packed performances as well as look good as and when required. I don't want the people to be confused that the role that I have been playing in my films is what I am in real life. It's just the man who is playing the villain in films is not bad in real life.'

What made you say yes to Maxim?
'Why not? It's the highest selling men's magazine in the world,' she said.

Asked about her future plans, she said: 'It's not that I'll be doing more glamorous or power packed roles. It's about the offers. Glamour cannot be substance to a role. However, in most of my forthcoming films, I have glamorous roles.

'In Hello I am glamorous. I have two more films - Straight and Hello Darling - in which too I have glamorous roles.' The actress said she is playing a modern, urban young woman in 'Hello'. 'My character is neither black nor white. It has a huge amount of grey in her. In the story, she is stuck in a conflict in choosing between love and practicality.'

Based on novelist Chetan Bhagat's One Night At The Call Centre also stars Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sohail Khan, Isha Koppikar, Sharman Joshi, Amrita Arora and Arbaaz Khan.

Gul Panag waiting to blossom on bollywood turf

Gul Panag has some fabulous performances to her credit like in Nagesh Kukunoor's 'Dor' as the strong willed Zeenat and in Navdeep Singh's 'Manorama Six Feet Under'. Yet, box-office success has always eluded this dimpled beauty.

"I have never been upset with the reactions at the box-office. I am a staunch believer of Karma yog. According to Lord Krishna, one must keep on doing his karma and not worry about the fruits," says Gul philosophically. "I try to give my best while shooting. Whatever happens after the release, whether the film becomes a success or not depends on the likings of the audience. So it does not affect me much," she adds.

But the rumours of her relationship with Sikandar Kher do seem to affect her as the lady is not very comfortable discussing it. "I know Sikandar since more than seven years. We have been very good friends and it is very understandable and natural to talk good about your friends. About the rumours, well there is no truth behind them. I am not comfortable discussing my personal life in public so I'd rather leave it at that," she says.

Nonetheless, Gul is all gaga over Sikandar's acting abilities. "Sikandar is a very good actor. In fact, he has turned out to be a better performer than I thought. We worked together in 'Summer 2007' and it was a very good experience," she says.

Sadly for the two, the good experience did not turn into good results at the box-office. But ever the optimist Gul has left the past behind and is looking forward to three more films this year. "I have three films releasing. First is Atul Agnihotri's 'Hello', after that is Parvati Balagopalan's 'Phir Zindagi' and then 'Straight' with Vinay Pathak.

I am also shooting for Manoj Tiwari's 'Hello Darling' and with Sanjay Suri in 'Anubhav'. Then there's a comedy on the anvil with Rajat Kapoor," she updates.

Celina Jaitley to play a Kleptomaniac Stripper

Celina has just returned from London from an incomplete schedule of Tigmanshu Dhulia's King Con opposite Govinda. "The weather in London got bad. And we hardly did any work. Chi Chi had Rumi Jaffrey's film and I had to return to complete Hello Darling. So we came back."

She got into the Dhulia project at the eleventh hour. And she couldn't be happier. It is possibly the most fearsomely challenging role in the actress' career. "In King Con I play a stripper who's a kleptomaniac," Celina giggles. "I died laughing when I heard my role. I'm having the time of my life. I got the role just a week before shooting. They weren't sure about how to make the girl look. I play this stripper who's half-English and half-Indian."

Celina's co-star is Govinda. She's all praise for him. "I've worked with so many leading men. He's one of those rare ones who never tries to flirt or make a pass. I don't know why people talk negatively about him. Govinda is a very spiritual person." Now Celina has one more film opposite 'spiritual' Govinda. "We'll start working together on Aditya Datt's film. I know people are talking about me and Govinda. But he's just too nice."

Celina says she's finally able to focus on her career. "Earlier I was too much in love to give enough of myself to my career. But now I've realized work is all that matters. Love will come when it has to."

Celina was also in the news for her supposed spat with Neha Dhupia in Thailand last month. Celina clears the air. "Neha missed her flight and arrived two days late. By then Riya and I were shooting a song in identical school uniforms. The director said the hairstyles should be different. But when Neha joined us she wanted the same ribbons. I suggested different hair accessories to avoid looking identical. Neha got agitated and used unparliamentary language with me." Since this ugly incident happened in Celina's van the actress got upset. "The next thing I knew stories about our spat was being spread in Mumbai." Says Celina, "A spat over ribbons with a co-star is not my scene. I'm also being accused of spreading stories about Riya and Paritosh Painter. I reached Thailand three days late because my passport was stuck with the British embassy. I had to make up for lost time. I had no time for all this in Thailand. My mom and dad were with me in Thailand. We were constantly together. As for Neha and me, we were hardly together. After Thailand I went straight to London. I had no idea about the stories being spread in Mumbai. I guess girls working together always causes trouble. We all have our insecurities to deal with. "

On the brighter side Riya Sen called and apologized to Celina.

Gul Panag shows her Sexy Ass during Press Meet of Hello Darling

Gul Panag shows her Sexy Ass during Press Meet of Hello Darling