15 years of Dor: Gul Panag says the film set the tone for the kind of roles she would do later

Dor may have been the third film of her career, but for actor Gul Panag, the film, which released on this day 15 years ago, remains an important one in her filmography, as it was a proof of her appetite for quality cinema.

The actor essayed the part of Zeenat, who takes on the task of saving the life of her husband, who is on trial for murder.

“I hadn’t realised that it already has been 15 years. It is a milestone for more reasons for one. It set the space I would work in going forward. Not to say that it was not in my mind clearly what films I would be part of. But Dor was a reaffirmation that my choices were correct. Choosing a path which is true to what you believe in pays off at some level,” shares Panag, about the Nagesh Kukunoor-directed film.

It was also not the usual film that many female actors were doing at that time, and most definitely not someone who was just starting off her career. The 42-year-old says she wanted to steer clear from the run-of-the mill projects and is proud to have Dor in her resume.

“Everybody said that being an ex-Miss India I should choose conventional parts and go for the low hanging fruit and do something that is easy to do. They told me ‘why you want to climb uphill when you can have an easier walk?’ But Dor really set the tone for the kind of roles I would do later,” she continues, “As much as it is an incredible film to be a part of, there were temptation to do films that everyone else was doing, films that would make me a quicker recognisable face,” she elaborates.

But, Panag is glad that she didn’t choose that path. “I just was clear about what cinema I wanted to be a part of. I wanted cinema to help me grow as a person and help my stature grow in the society. The film showed me that it is possible to achieve that. It reaffirmed that this is the path I want to be on and this is the genre I would like to dabble with,” she ends.