Pavail Gulati Opens Up About His Bond With Taapsee Pannu, Says ‘She’s Been a Backbone’ | Exclusive

Pavail Gulati might be only a few movies old but he’s already proved he’s among the finest actors of this generation. Last year alone, he had three crucial releases — Dobaaraa, Goodbye, and the web series Faadu. The actor delivered memorable performances in all three of them. While we cannot wait to see him take on the big screen again, Pavail will be taking on the small screen with the television premiere of Dobaaraa and Goodbye on & TV.

Ahead of the premieres, News18.com caught up with Pavail to find out about how he approaches projects, his bond with Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu, and his dream list of directors. Here’s an excerpt:

Does the box office collection matter to you?

Of course, it matters to me and it matters to every actor, director, and producer. It matters to a certain extent. But it’s not a matter of life and death because we have many options now for people to watch our films so I think now we have a good balance (of platforms). Once we understand the balance now, we’ll be okay.

How do you go about choosing a role? What’s a deal breaker for you?

I look for two things when I’m choosing a character or film or show. First of all, it’s the script. I know it’s a done-to-death statement to make but the script is the most important to me and who is directing it. If it meets these two criteria then I’m sorted.

You have spoken about how fond you have always been of Amitabh Bachchan and how Goodbye gave you the chance to bond with him in a way you never expected. Are you still in touch with him?

On and off we message each other. He’s the kindest man ever. Whenever I get the opportunity to talk to him, I never let it go. He’s one person I’ll always be fond of. When my friends ask me how it is to be working with Me Bachchan, I don’t say I met him, I say I experienced that man. That is not worth meeting but worth experiencing.

You have spoken very fondly of Taapsee Pannu and Rashmika Mandanna too. Would you say that you have become friends?

Taapsee and I hang out all the time so she’s one of my closest friends and she’s been a backbone to me in terms of anything I do, I need to take her advice because she’s been through all of that so she’s a very, very close friend and confidant in life. Rashmika and I also get along so well. She’s always very sweet and positive. Her smile just makes my day.

You have surpassed the boundaries and experimented with Bollywood. Would you explore other languages?

I’m terrible at languages, that’s my problem. I’m terrible at learning new languages but if I get offered something, I’d love to try my hand at it. I think I need a push to learn a new language and I think if a film came along for which I have to learn a new language, I think that will be a push to learn.

You’ve already worked with directors such as Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and Anurag Kashyap. Who are some of the other directors you want to work with?

There are so many, the list will go on. I love Sriram Raghavan sir, I think he’s one of the finest directors. I love Zoya Akhtar, Raju Hirani, and Karan Johar, there are so many…

In an interview, you said that there was a time when you felt envious of your contemporaries because you felt they were doing good work. But is there someone from this generation of actors whose work you really admire? Does the pressure of competition ever bog you down?

If competition is not competition, you get very complacent. Competition is a good thing, it makes you work harder to become better. There are so many of my contemporaries that I love. Ishaan Khatter is so good, he was damn good in Phone Bhoot. All the people I see now are so good that it makes me work harder and that’s very important.