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When Gul Panag turned 30

Acting in Turning 30 brought Gul Panag face to face with her fears.

"I confronted my fears when I was playing the role of Naina Singh," the actress said at a press conference in Mumbai.

Turning 30, which is directed by Alankrita Shrivastava and produced by Prakash Jha, is the story of a single woman who grapples with several issues as she turns 30.

Elaborating on her role, Gul says, "I play a woman called Naina Singh, who has everything in her life right from a good career to being independent. Things change in her life when she is about to turn 30. What happens when her perfect life changes, is something which you will have to watch."

Purab Kohli plays the male lead in the film. "I play a young photographer, who has had his shares of indecisiveness, but later becomes a settled and a sorted out guy," he says.

Asked if he was comfortable acting in a woman-centric movie, Purab says, "Honestly, I had my share of doubts as to what my role was in the movie. But the director's conviction and clarity on the subject convinced me to do the role."

What helped were the parties thrown while shooting for the movie. "We had to party a lot in the movie, so we actually had fun while shooting. In fact, the first party scene was actually a party thrown by Alankrita at her own house," Purab revealed.

Of course, it was not all fun. There were rumours about Gul having to redo her dubbing, leading to tension between the director and the actress. "Yes, we did lose two reels as I was suffering from a terrible case of laryngitis," Gul says. "We had our share of disagreements but I won't call it a fight. Alakriti is very clear about what she wants, and it's her way or the highway. I wanted certain inputs as an actor but she was adamant about the kind of shots she wanted."

But Alankrita was all praise for Gul. "Gul is a terrific actress. I think it's difficult to portray a relatable character and she has a done a fabulous job," she says.

Alankrita also parised her producer Prakash Jha. "I have been working with him for seven years. He is a great producer; he lets you do your job."