Actress Pooja Gor, who is riding high on the success of Guns & Gulaabs, believes stories are not just about the lead actors

Nonika Singh

A 90s kid, acclaimed directors Raj and DK’s series and even if hers wasn’t a ‘central’ part, so many things were tipped in favour that Pooja Gor could not have possibly refused Guns & Gulaabs. Rather she beams, “I think I manifested it.” Today she is both exhilarated and humbled by the response to the Netflix series.

Fan connect

Pooja Gor agrees that social media is both a boon and a bane. “Overexposure can be detrimental. It triggers anxiety and there is pressure of numbers, but at the same time it’s the best way to connect with fans.” With an Instagram following of over one million, she has a team to assist her but writes her own posts, “I want it to be my own voice.”

Part of the exhilaration comes from the two celebrated makers who helmed it. She shares, “Raj and DK sir put you at ease immediately, are so much fun on the sets and have such a fantastic wry sense of humour, no ‘ha ha’ jokes for them.” Their unorthodox and unique way of storytelling with ‘lots of heart in it’ too finds fulsome praise from her. And to cap it all, she got to play superstar Dulquer Salmaan’s wife. Could she have asked for more? On her gifted co-actor, she says, “Apart from being such a fantastic actor, a natural at that, he is a good-hearted human being. He is very chivalrous and on point in his etiquette, all the qualities you want in a co-actor. The way he talks about his wife and daughter is so endearing; his eyes simply light up.”

Of course, in the show he plays a flawed family man. Would she forgive infidelity in real life? Her answer oscillates between yes and no. “No, for obviously such a thing would be earth-shattering and yes if one has to move on.” But she would rather ‘forgive and not forget’ than simply forgive and compromise. On the other trait of her onscreen character, well, she could certainly understand, if not relate to, the wifely quality of a supportive and entrepreneurial spouse ready to push her career in the background for her husband’s sake. “I have seen women of my mother’s and grandmother’s generation do it.” If love beckons she can’t say whether she would move lock, stock and barrel from Mumbai, which is home now. But, yes her other love, her work, does take her to different places.

Ready for challenges

With a popular serial Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya behind her, where she essayed the titular role of Pratigya, saying yes to a smaller part in the film Kedarnath does not bother her. “When you are part of ensemble, you can’t think in conventional terms of hero and heroine. The film gave me a chance to do something new, as I got to play a grey character. As actors, we feed off challenges. Sometimes even a single scene act can be the driver in the narrative. Stories are not just about lead actors.”

Though right now she would like to focus more on OTT and movies for ‘I have done enough of television’, she would not say OTT is the medium of today. She adds, “Young India prefers streaming platforms. But there is an audience for every medium and actors like us tend to gain a lot from this new algorithm, and get to work in different genres across mediums.” Working with directors like Abhishek Kapoor and of course Raj & DK too is an enriching process.

Critics may have felt that as compared to four male characters in Guns & Gulaabs female ones were not as fleshed out, she insists, “Wait for the unravelling in the second season.” You bet, apart from the second season, Guns & Gulaabs has opened doors as ‘many positive aftereffects’ and many offers are on the table for her.

Watch out for her in yet another Netflix series, starring Vijay Varma and directed by Anubhav Sinha. The biggest lesson she has learnt from top-notch directors she has worked with is, “No matter how successful you are, you must strive harder.” Of course, lasting in any profession that is competitive requires resilience. Thus, to all those young aspirants who want to be part of the entertainment industry, her advice is, “Have a heart of steel.”