IT IS THE BEST TIME TO CHALLENGE MYSELF AS AN ACTOR: ANANYA

Young and spunky at 23, Ananya Panday is raring to take on newer challenges

Ever since her debut in 2019 with Student of the Year 2, actor Ananya Panday says she has been trying to push the boundaries with all her films. “As a young, 23-year-old actor, I’m trying to not put myself in any sort of box. I want to try a little bit of everything and challenge myself and evolve with every film and character. If you see, even the films that I am doing (at the moment), such as Liger or Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, it is very different from Gehraiyaan,” she tells us.

Coming from a family with a background in films (her father is actor Chunky Panday), Ananya has been witness to the changes that the entertainment industry has been through in the past 23 years. She shares, “Cinema has become a lot more universal. And there are a lot more opportunities out there for all kinds of talent, with so many new platforms opening up.”

The actor goes on to add, “We all enjoy the big screen masala films in theatres and also like watching the more intimate stories at home. We are exposed to so many stories from all over our country and the world. As an actor, I think it’s the best time to be working and challenging myself.”

Dealing with trolls is another facet of being a public figure, and Ananya is no stranger to them. She even established a Digital Social Responsibility (DSR) project with the goal of inspiring and encouraging everyone, young and old, to fight bullying and trolling.

“So Positive began as starting a conversation on cyber bullying. I felt it was a prevalent issue that was not being addressed. I wanted to build a safe community where people didn’t feel like they were alone and could come to look for resources if they ever needed help in a cyber bullying incident. For me, So Positive has now become a way of life, and hence I never feel the need to balance it out with my work. It’s what I choose to imbibe in everything I do or say.

For me, it has become a general sense of kindness toward myself and others. It is about using social media for social good,” she ends.

Cinema has become a lot more universal. There are more opportunities out there for all kinds of talent, with so many new platforms opening up. We’re exposed to so many stories from all over the world. ANANYA PANDAY, Actor