Gulkirat Kaur Panag (born 3 January 1979) is an Indian actress,

voice actress Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

, and

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

. She was crowned Femina Miss India Universe 1999 and represented India at

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

. She began her career in

Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

with the 2003 film '' Dhoop'' directed by

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 films. He is known for his works in parallel cinema, such as '' Hyderabad Blues' ...

and since then, she has starred in several films like '' Jurm'' along with the TV series ''Kashmeer''. Her films include '' Dor'', '' Dhoop'', ''

Manorama Six Feet Under ''Manorama Six Feet Under'' is a 2007 Indian crime 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 was released on 21 September 2007. It follows an ...

'', ''

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 Cou ...

'', ''

Straight Straight may refer to: Slang * Straight, slang for heterosexual ** Straight-acting, normal person * Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture Sport and games * Straight, an alternative name for the cross, a type of punch in boxing * Str ...

'', and '' Ab Tak Chhappan 2''. She played a commoner, fighting hard to save her husband from going to the gallows, in the 2006

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

'' and '' Summer 2007''. 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), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim ...

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. It was founded on 26 November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions, following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement against then gover ...

candidate from

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

for 2014 Lok Sabha Elections.

Early life

Panag started her education in

Sangrur Sangrur is a city in 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 services City has PGIM ...

, in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

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

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

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 Government of India, central government schools in India. Governed by the Ministry of Education (India), Ministry of Education, Government of India. , it has a total of 1,257 schools in India, ...

(

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 -Agra Mumbai Road. It is the birthplace of Babasaheb B. R. Ambedkar . ...

Leh Leh () is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Kashmir_dispute, disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TE ...

and

Wellington, Tamil Nadu Wellington (Native name: Jakkatalla ( Badaga)) is a town in the Nilgiris District of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located at three kilometres to the north of Coonoor on the NH-181. The town includes a Wellington Bazaar, and the Wellington C ...

), 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 Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

. She did her Bachelors in Mathematics from

Punjabi University Punjabi University is a collegiate state public university located in Patiala, Punjab, India, 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 Universit ...

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, 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, Patiala, Qila Mubar ...

, and Masters in Political Science from

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

. 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, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

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

pageant.

Brand endorsement

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

Tata Sky Tata Play is an Indian subscription-based satellite television (DTH) service provider owned by Tata Group. it was using MPEG-4 digital compression technology, transmitting using INSAT-4A GSAT-10 and GSAT-24 satellites. Incorporated in 2005, ...

, along with

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and television personality who works in Bollywood, Hindi films. Referred to as "Mr. Perfectionist" in the media, he is known for his work in a variety of film g ...

. 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) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

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 an Indian pharmaceutical and biotechnology company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It produces formulations, biopharmaceuticals, nutrition products, vaccines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The company has manufactur ...

Foundation. She also participated in the

India Against Corruption India Against Corruption (IAC) is a non-political anti-corruption movement in India since 2007 which rose to prominence during the anti-corruption protests of 2011. Divisions among personalities on IAC's platform eventually led to the formation ...

movement. She ran at the

Delhi Half Marathon Delhi Half Marathon, currently branded as the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons, 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 ...

in November 2010, but endured

eve teasing In India, eve teasing is a euphemism, primarily occurring in Indian English, used for public sexual harassment or sexual assault of women by men. The name "Eve" alludes to the Bible's Creation myth, creation story concerning Adam and Eve. Consi ...

(

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

) 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, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

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, actress, television personality, singer, and entertainment producer. She is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and in Ma ...

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 at 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 A gurdwara or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and place of worship, worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhism, Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and rel ...

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 for '' Dor''. *

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

- 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 (OTT) space. The first edition of the awards were held on 19 December 2020. It included films and s ...

for Best Supporting Actress (Drama Series) - ''

Paatal Lok ''Paatal Lok'' () is an Indian neo-noir crime thriller 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 Prosit ...

Filmography

Films

Television

Web series

References

External links

* *
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panag, Gul Living people 1977 births 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 Women in Chandigarh politics Punjabi University alumni Panjab University alumni Indian actor-politicians Beauty queen-politicians Zee Cine Awards winners 21st-century Indian actresses