Some films find their way to actors, that’s how Dor happened to Shreyas Talpade. Reminiscing about his part and collaborating with filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor after Iqbal (2005), Talpade, who plays the role of Bahuroopiya, says, “It’s been 15 years already? This is unreal!” He further shares, “I consider it my favourite. With Dor, I saw a different Nagesh Kukunoor. I wasn’t the first choice for my character.”

The 46-year-old reveals that the director wanted a senior actor. “I’d formed a rapport with Nagesh after Iqbal and I was like, ‘How can I not be part of the film?’ He wanted me to play one of the husbands of the two female characters. After a week, he offered Bahuroopiya. to me. He said since I do a lot of mimicry, I might as well use it in the film,” the actor says.

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Dor may have been the third film of her career, but for Gul Panag, the film, which released on this day 15 years ago, remains important as it was a proof of her appetite for qualitative cinema. She essayed the part of Zeenat, who takes on the task of saving the life of her husband, who is on trial for murder.

“I didn’t realise that it’s been 15 years already! It’s (the film) a milestone. It set the space I would work in, going forward. Dor was a reaffirmation that my choices were correct,” says Panag.

It wasn’t the usual film that many female actors would do at that time. The 42-year-old says she wanted to steer clear from the run-of-the-mill projects and is proud to have Dor on her resume. “Everybody said that being an ex-Miss India, I should choose conventional parts. But Dor set the tone for the kind of roles I would do later. It’s an incredible film, but there was temptation to do other films too, movies that would make me a recognisable face quickly,” she says.