Parul Gulati, who is playing the role of the hard-core feminist and journalist Jannat, in ALTBalaji show, Haq Se, is quite happy with the fame and love she is getting. “It is really very humbling when young girls call me their feminist icon on social media. We are just actors essaying an role, but if we are able to put forward a message of change, it is a job well done.”
How similar or different are you from Jannat in real life ? “Normally, we actors think ten times before writing anything on social media, for fear of trolls. But Jannat, who writes a blog, cares a fig.”
Parul enjoyed the banter she shares with on-screen sister, Amal Mirza (Nikessha Rangwala). “I also had a great time doing the scenes with Tabish. We have similar names- he is called Pavail Gulati. Apart from being a cool guy, he is a great actor to boot. Director Ken Ghosh, Pavail and I would jam before scenes, to see if we could make something even better.”
On the point, as to why there was no focus in the show on the raging terrorism in Kashmir, she says, “We wanted to focus on women’s issues from an everyday perspective. Having said that, you have just seen 11 episodes. There are still nine more to go. So, watch out for it when they start streaming it sometime next month.”
Here, Parul wishes to thank her writers for giving her the best dialogues in the show. “They really helped to establish that Jannat is a very realistic gal; someone who learns from her mistakes and abuses when pushed.”
Prior to this web series, she had also done a TV show, POW (Star Plus). “Even there, my character was a Kashmiri journalist. But she was pro-Pakistani and sister of a jihadi. The Urdu I learnt there came in good stead here.” She has also done a few Punjabi flicks and lots of TVC.
“There are a few more web series in the pipeline. As a non-industry actor, digital is the best place to get noticed, for we don’t have the connections to get directly launched in films.”
Talking about her on-screen kiss in Haq Se, she says, “It being my first intimate scene, I was terrified. But Ken handled it well. I am glad that unlike other web products, which have unneeded skin show, I did not go bare, for that would have taken away from Jannat.”