Pavail Gulati: Thappad teaches not to hurt dignity of another person

His recent performances in Anubhav Sinha's Thappad, the anthology film Ghost Stories, and the web series Made In Heaven among others have garnered praise, and budding actor Pavail Gulati feels waiting for the right opportunity without being bitter about struggle has proved to be the right way for him.

"I think one of the toughest things in an actor's life is to wait for the opportunity that he has dreamt of. I am one of those people who never want to sit idle and crib over the fact that I am not getting acting assignments. So just after finishing my graduation from Whistling Woods International film and media institution, I started working on production, assisting, and editing among other things. I think as long as your mind is engaged; you do not get into that negative zone, and stay hopeful," Pavail told IANS.

The actor, who worked with Amitabh Bachchan in the TV show "Yudh" in 2014, feels fortunate to have acted for filmmakers as Zoya Akhtar, Anubhav Sinha, Ekta Kapoor, and Anurag Kashyap among others.

"It is a dream for any actor to get a call from filmmakers whom he has admired forever. I think in my journey so far, I have manifested everything well, because I only looked at the opportunity most of the time rather than the length of my role," said Pavail, who went through extensive theatre training under the mentorship of an icon like Naseruddin Shah before entering Bollywood.

In "Thappad", he plays the husband of the female protagonist Amrita, played by Taapsee Pannu. What was the best takeaway from the film for him? "I think the biggest lesson that I have learnt through the process of filming ‘Thappad' is, not hurting the dignity of the other person in a relationship, and that means in any relationship — be it with parents, childhood friends, girlfriend or people who genuinely care," replied Pavail.

"Earlier I used to miss out on my mother's call when I was busy. It is a common thing that we all do, thinking, ‘mummy hi to hai, baad mein baat kar loonga (it's only mummy, I will speak to her later)'. It is true that at times when we are dealing with a tough situation, answering ‘kya kar rahe ho beta (what's up son)' might just irritate. But now I think from their point of view. For my Ma, at times she just wants to hear my voice, and not taking her call conveys that she is not important in my life. It is important not to take our loved ones for granted," Pavail signed off.