Gul Panag (born Gulkirat Kaur Panag, 3 January 1979;

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

, India) is an Indian actress, voice actress, model, and former beauty queen who competed in the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall St ...

pageant. Panag began her career in

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...

with the 2003 film '' Dhoop''. Since then, she has worked in films like '' Jurm'' and the TV series ''Kashmeer''. Her films include '' Dor'', '' Dhoop'', ''

Manorama Six Feet Under ''Manorama Six Feet Under'' is a 2007 Indian thriller film directed and co-written by Navdeep Singh. The film features Abhay Deol, Raima Sen and Gul Panag in the lead roles. The film released on 21 September 2007. It follows an amateur detect ...

'', ''

Hello ''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwich ...

'', ''

Straight Straight may refer to: Slang * Straight, slang for heterosexual ** Straight-acting, an LGBT person who does not exhibit the appearance or mannerisms of the gay stereotype * Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture Sport and games * ...

'', and ''

Ab Tak Chhappan 2 ''Ab Tak Chhappan 2'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film produced by Raju Chada and Gopal Dalvi. The film is directed by Aejaz Gulab and scripted by Nilesh Girkar. The film stars Nana Patekar in the lead role. It also stars ...

''. She played a commoner, fighting hard to save her husband from going to the gallows, in the 2006

Nagesh Kukunoor Nagesh Kukunoor (born 30 March 1967) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor known for his works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and few Telugu language films. He is known for his works in parallel cinema, such as ''Hyderab ...

film, '' Dor''. In 2008, she acted in the films ''

'' and ''

Summer 2007 ''Summer 2007'' is a 2008 Indian drama film directed by the debutant Suhail Tatari. The film deals with five medical students who undergo a rude awakening of sorts after visiting a Maharashtrian village and witnessing the misfortune of villa ...

''. In 2009, she appeared in the movie ''

''. She featured in '' Rann'' in a role attempting to stop her boyfriend from doing the right thing. Panag appeared on the front page of

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

with whom she did a photo shoot in September 2008. She debuted in Punjabi movies with ''Sarsa.'' She was the

Aam Aadmi Party The Aam Aadmi Party (; AAP) is a List of political parties in India, political party in India, as one of the national political parties. The AAP was founded in November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions following the 2011 Indian ...

candidate from

for 2014 Lok Sabha Elections.

Early life

Panag started her education in

Sangrur Sangrur is a city in Sangrur district of the Indian state of Punjab, India. It is the headquarters of Sangrur District. Geography Sangrur is located at . It has an average elevation of 237 metres (778 feet). Climate Health s ...

, in

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

. Her father, Lt. Gen. Panag was in the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and the family moved to different places across India and abroad. As a result of this, she studied in 14 different schools including

Kendriya Vidyalayas The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan () is a system of central government schools in India that are instituted under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, Government of India. , it has a total of 1,248 schools in India, and three abroad in Moscow ...

(

Mhow Mhow, officially Dr. Ambedkar Nagar, is a town in the Indore district in Madhya Pradesh state of India. It is located south-west of Indore city, towards Mumbai on the old Mumbai-Agra Road. The town was renamed as ''Dr. Ambedkar Nagar'' in 20 ...

Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former ...

and Wellington, Tamil Nadu), The Lawrence School, Lovedale and the International School of Lusaka,

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

. She did her Bachelors in Mathematics from

Punjabi University Punjabi University is a collegiate state public university located in Patiala, Punjab, India. It was established on 30 April 1962 and is only the second university in the world to be named after a language, after Hebrew University of Israel. ...

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') construct ...

, and Masters in Political Science from

Panjab University Panjab University (PU) is a collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Laho ...

. As a student, Panag was interested in sports and public speaking. She won numerous state and national level

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

competitions, including two gold medals at the Annual National Inter University Debate competition.

Career

Modeling

Panag won the Miss India title in 1999, and was crowned Miss Beautiful Smile at the same pageant. She participated in the

Miss Universe 1999 Miss Universe 1999, the 48th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 26 May 1999 at the Chaguaramas Convention Centre in Chaguaramas, Trinidad, Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago. Mpule Kwelagobe of Botswana was crowned by Wendy Fitzwilliam of Trinidad ...

pageant.

Brand endorsement

She has appeared in numerous advertisements on television and print media and is the brand ambassador for

Tata Sky Tata Play (stylised as TΛTΛ PLΛY, formerly TΛTΛ , sky) is an Indian direct broadcast satellite (DTH) service provider using MPEG-4 digital compression technology, transmitting using INSAT-4A and GSAT-10 satellite. Incorporated in 2005; i ...

, along with

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...

. Panag was the ''Twitter Face'' for the ''Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week'' held in 2009, to cover the happenings/proceedings on the micro-blogging site.

Social activism

Gul Panag runs the Colonel Shamsher Singh Foundation, an

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

that works towards a variety of causes including gender equality, education and disaster management. She served on the advisory board of the

Wockhardt Wockhardt is a global pharmaceutical and biotechnology company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It produces formulations, biopharmaceuticals, nutrition products, vaccines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). History Wockhardt was foun ...

Foundation. She also participated in the India Against Corruption movement. She ran at the

Delhi Half Marathon Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM) is an annual half marathon foot-race held in New Delhi, India. Established in 2005, it is both an elite runner and mass participation event. It is an AIMS-certified course and is listed as a Gold Label Road Rac ...

in November 2010, but endured

eve teasing Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

(

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fr ...

) from male runners at the event. She later remarked that the attitude of men in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

needed to change and that the city was unsafe for women.

Political career

She was the

candidate from

for

2014 Indian general election General elections were held in India in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to elect the members of the 16th Lok Sabha. With 834 million registered voters, they were the largest-ever elections in the world until being surpassed by the 2019 ...

. She came on third position with 1,08,679 votes, while

Kirron Kher Kirron Anupam Kher (also Kiran ''Indian Express'', 12 May 2002. or, Kiron born 14 June 1952) is an Indian politician; theatre, film and television actress; television personality; singer; entertainment producer; and a member of the Bharatiya Ja ...

won the election with 1,91,362 votes.

Other interests

She is a half-marathon runner, a biker, and a certified pilot. She debuted on the racing track at the Mahindra Racing's all new M4Electro at the circuit de Calafat in Catalonia, Spain. A health activist and fitness advocate Gul Panag, co-founded health and fitness startup MobieFit in 2017. Gul Panag is also a director a
Tittar Lodge Productions Private Limited
which provides digital, tailor-made TV content, film and documentary content.

Personal life

Panag married her long-time boyfriend, an airline pilot, Rishi Attari on 13 March 2011 in a Gurdwara in Chandigarh in a traditional Punjabi Sikh ceremony. The couple has a son named Nihal born in 2018.

Awards

* 2007 - Tied - Zee Cine Critics Award for Best Actress, tied with

Ayesha Takia Ayesha Takia Azmi (née Takia; born 10 April 1986), is an Indian actress and former model who worked predominantly in Hindi films. Takia made her debut in 2004 with the action thriller '' Taarzan: The Wonder Car'' for which she won Filmfare Bes ...

for '' Dor''. *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

- Nominated –

Filmfare OTT Awards The Filmfare OTT Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language original programming over-the-top space. The first edition of the awards were held on 19 December 2020. It included films and web ser ...

for Best Supporting Actress (Drama Series) - ''

Paatal Lok ''Paatal Lok'' () is an Indian Hindi-language crime thriller web television series on Amazon Prime Video, created by Sudip Sharma, who wrote the script along with Sagar Haveli, Hardik Mehta and Gunjit Chopra, and directed by Avinash Arun and P ...

Filmography

Films

Television

Web series

References

External links

* *
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panag, Gul Living people 1977 births 21st-century Indian politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians Aam Aadmi Party candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Aam Aadmi Party politicians Actresses from Chandigarh Chandigarh politicians Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Punjabi cinema Femina Miss India winners Female models from Chandigarh Indian film actresses Indian web series actresses Indian voice actresses Kendriya Vidyalaya alumni Miss Universe 1999 contestants Punjabi people Women in Chandigarh politics Punjabi University alumni Panjab University alumni Indian actor-politicians Beauty queen-politicians Zee Cine Awards winners 21st-century Indian actresses