Gul was born in Chandigarh on 3 January 1979, into a 2nd generation armed forces family. She had the fortune of traveling all over the country due to her father’s frequent transfers. By the end of her schooling she had changed 14 schools! Among many Kendriya Vidyalaya’s, The Lawrence School Lovedale, she also studied in Lusaka, Zambia at the International School. She is an alumnus of the Government College for Girls, Patiala, where she pursued a BA in Mathematics and went on to do a Masters in Political Science from Punjab University Chandigarh. Gul always maintained a keen interest in sport and public speaking. She’s won many state and national level debating competitions, including gold medals twice, at the Annual National Inter University Debate. Entering the Miss India Pageant was a mere extension of her multi talented personality. It came as no surprise when she was crowned Miss India Universe in 1999, still only in her teens. Adamant about finishing her BA (Mathematics) degree, she took time off in her reign year to do the same. The journey since then has been eventful and rewarding. She did a bit modeling, a few TV shows including the critically acclaimed series Kashmeer, before graduating to film with the superbly received Dhoop , her award winning portrayal of Zeenat in Nagesh Kukunoor's Dor and her highly acclaimed work in Manorama Six Feet Under. Then came Summer 2007 directed by her friend, Suhail Tatari, where once again she earned fabulous reviews. Hello her first big budget outing met with a fair degree success, and her glamourous avatar in it took people by surprise and got her a lot of appreciation from audiences and critics alike. After Straight, Gul got a unanimous seal of approval from one and all turning her into the poster girl for the discerning and thinking audience. She was next seen in Ram Gopal Verma’s Rann where she held her own in an ensemble cast led by Amitabh Bachchan. Her recent film Turning 30 (produced by Prakash Jha) got Gul rave reviews for her uninhibited portrayal of a modern woman living life on her own terms. She has up for release this year Rajat Kapoor's and Pritish Nandy’s "Fatso". http://www.gulpanag.net/about_gul_panag.php
Gul Panag Films
Fatso! (2011)
Status: 2010 release
Genre: Romantic / Comedy
Director: Rajat Kapoor
Producer/s: Rajat Kappor/ PNC
Cast: Ranvir Shorey, Gul Panag, Purab Kohli , Neil Bhopalam
Character Name: Nandidni
Status: 2010 release
Genre: Romantic / Comedy
Director: Rajat Kapoor
Producer/s: Rajat Kappor/ PNC
Cast: Ranvir Shorey, Gul Panag, Purab Kohli , Neil Bhopalam
Character Name: Nandidni
TV and Ads Gul Panag Visit http://www.gulpanag.net/television_ads.php
Former beauty queen and actress Gul Panag, who feels Bipasha Basu and Akshay Kumar are Bollywood's fitness icons, says girls should stop running behind size zero and simply focus on being fit.
"I don't understand the relationship between size zero and a fit body. Fitness is that if your car breaks down and you can easily walk four to five km without tiring out, or if you can pick a heavy bag without complaining about your back ... fitness is not necessarily about being skinny," Gul told reporters here.
The 32-year-old also gave out some fitness tips.
"People should focus on strength and endurance, and shouldn't run after size. The girls want to get smaller, the boys want to grow bigger but what's important in fitness is that you have strength and stamina because there's no fitness without it," she added.
While a lot of people rave about Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif's slim waist, Gul said Bipasha was the fittest among all.
"I think Bipasha is very fit. A lot of people feel being slim is being fit. But there is a big difference between being fit and being slim. Being fit means you should have endurance level and have stamina ... and if in Bollywood, there are any two people who are genuinely fit, they are Bipasha Basu and Akshay Kumar," she said.