Gul Panag, who hails from North India, graduated in Mathematics from the University of Punjab. Gul was very active with college theatres and won awards for public debates. Her aunt Komal GB Singh, who was one of the most famous newsreaders of her time, has always been an inspiration for Gul.
In 1999, Gul participated in the Femina Miss India contest. Her dimples and oodles of self-confidence won her the Miss India Universe crown and at the International Level she stood sixth. Unlike many beauty queens, who jump on the Bollywood mainstream bandwagon after winning the crown, Gul had her priorities straight and she continued her studies and attained an MA in Political Science from Delhi University.
Gul joined television and her first show ‘Kashmir’ got her a lot of critical acclaim. Gul was flooded with movie offers, but she chose the parallel cinema path and opted for ‘Dhoop’ as her debut movie as the actress as an actress first and then a star. ‘Dhoop’ did not her fair well at the box-office and her next ‘Jurm’ also went unnoticed.
Gul started dating Sikandar Kher son of Anupam and Kirron Kher, but the relationship didn’t last long and both parted ways. Gul was signed Nagesh Kukunoor for ‘Dor’ a movie that finally got her the acclaim that she truly deserves. Gul has defined her image as that of an actress with substance and that has fetched her some good projects. Her next will be ‘Phir Zindagi’ followed by ‘Alibaug’ and ‘Agnivesh’.
Gul has great goals as she wants to design a multi-media package for dog owners and wants to persuit a PhD in International Relations. Gul is also penning down her first book, which has short stories and she plans to publish it soon. It may sound cliché, but Gul is a perfect combination of beauty with brains and focus.