Gul Panag is surprised that till date, many people from both within and outside the industry are led to believe that she is a part of ALIBAUG. Why is she surprised? Because the fact is that it has more than one and a half years since she left ALIBAUG and in spite of quite a few clarifications that she has made on record, she continues to get queries about her role in the film.
“Puhleeze, let me state on record, once again, that I am no more a part of ALIBAUG”, says Gul while being visibly irritated with the fact that she is considered to be a part of this much delayed Sanjay Gupta film till date.
Going back down the memory lane, Gul reveals, “It was way back in May 2007 when I was forced to walk out of the film due to date problems. My calendar was booked for the film from Oct 2006 onwards but it never got on floors during this duration. Later when I was called for the shoot, my diary was reserved for SUMMER 2007. The film was continuing to get delayed and I had no other choice but to move out of the project.”
So why a misconception surrounding her presence in the film?
“Ask me”, says Gul in an exasperated tone, “People can write whatever they want to and I can’t help them beyond a point. I gave interviews, had my clarifications ready but if some out there refuse to believe what I say, what really can I do?”
Sanjay Gupta’s ALIBAUG has been facing trouble ever since it was announced close to two years back. While Sanjay Dutt, the central protagonist, is no more a part of the film, Irrfan Khan has filled in for his part. In addition, Madnira Bedi too was replaced by Sophie Chaudhary. Others in the original cast include Rohit Roy, Manasi Joshi Roy, R Madhavan, Sameer Soni, Sudhanshu Pandey, Sanjay Suri, Dia Mirza and Tisca Chopra though one wonders how many of these continue to be a part of the film.
Coming with an interesting catch line of ‘In a cold world…You need friends to keep you war’, the film was supposed to feature music by Himesh Reshammiya. With Himesh too becoming exclusive only for the films where he acts, it would be quite an event to hear his music in ALIBAUG.
By Joginder Tuteja
