‘DAD LETS ME MAKE MY OWN MISTAKES’
Ananya Panday says her parents don’t delve too much into her choices as they want her to have a journey of her own
Barely two films old in Bollywood, actor Ananya Panday is already coming into her own. Set to star alongside Deepika Padukone in a Shakun Batra directorial, and with Ishaan Khatter in Khaali Peeli, Ananya admits she is a complete director’s actor.
“I’m so new, I want to learn and hear everything,” she says excitedly, adding, “Directors make the characters with so much love and thought — I want to know exactly how they envisioned it. I think with every film, I’m learning to add my own quirks to it. Before Student of the Year 2 (2019), I didn’t even know what I looked like on screen. After that, with Tapasya in Pati, Patni Aur Woh (2019), I made changes to it on my own, according to what I thought would work. With every film, that experience will come.”
Having achieved so much in a span of less than a year, her parents — actor
Chunky Panday and mother Bhavana — must be really proud. How do they react to her success? “They are very happy. Parents will always be your only true fans who want the best for you. I’m so happy my parents are seeing my success. They’ve always emphasised on me living a very balanced life. I began working at a young age, they always try and make time for me to chill, enjoy and live a normal life,” says the 21-year-old.
But they must be worried how Ananya will handle the volatile nature of the film business, where fates change every Friday? Ask if there’s any piece of advice they’ve offered her and she says, “I think no, not really. My dad, especially, has let me do my own thing and make my own mistakes. They don’t want to be too involved because they want me to have my own journey. They don’t want for me to, later on in my life, have any regrets, so they let me do my own thing.”