Pavleen Gujral on polarising reviews for Gehraiyaan: People are too judgmental

Actor Pavleen Gujral says infidelity shown in Gehraiyaan was not wrong or right, as such things happen, but the film concentrates on why such things happen.

Pavleen Gujral had a small role in Gehraiyaan, as Deepika Padukone’s onscreen mother , but the response she got was more than enough for her. “A lot of people have seen the film, and there have been mixed reactions. I start the film and am there throughout in bits and pieces. I am overwhelmed with how things are going,” she exclaims.

Actor Pavleen Gujral played the role of Deepika Padukone’s character Alisha’s mother in Gehraiyaan.

But prod her about the polarising reviews- one section loving it, and the other section criticizing it- and she says people are being “a little too judgmental”.

She elaborates, “People are different. The country has changed, we are in the 21st century. I am not saying whatever was shown in the film (infidelity) was wrong or right… such things happen. This film concentrates on why such things happen. Rather than what happened, we should appreciate the gumption and courage which the filmmakers have shown.”

Gujral adds that the subject was something which wasn’t addressed much in Hindi cinema before. She says infidelity is prevalent, “It’s just that now we finally have a film which portrays reality, so to speak. It’s been picturised in a different fashion in Gehraiyaan. The treatment people are not accepting.”

She agrees that today, in the social media age, people get extreme and sometimes nasty as well, and that’s what happened with her film too. The tonal shift of the film from infidelity to a thriller too was received in a polarizing way. “Absolutely. I went for the screening which was held for the cast. I did not think, after watching it, that it will get this kind of a reaction. I told Shakun ‘I can’t get over the film post interval, there is so much happening’. After that, I see people are taking about a completely different topic. Yeh baat aayi kahaan se, I wonder. People are behaving like pigeons, with their eyes closed,” says Gujral.