WHAT ADVICE DOES CHUNKY GIVE ANANYA?
Chunky Panday is proud of his daughter who recently made her debut in Bollywood
Actor Chunky Panday has seen every phase of showbiz but managed to create space for himself. Be it the iconic character of Aakhri Pasta in the Housefull franchise, or a negative role in the recent Saaho, he has done it all. He is passing on his learnings to his 21-year-old daughter Ananya, who made her Bollywood debut this year.
He says, “I tell her ‘You have to be a shameless actor’. Not that you have to be selfish... acting is all about being in sync with your costars. Also, you should never look in the mirror because you have a whole team looking after you. So your performance should be shameless, as if no one is watching you, like you are standing in front of a mirror, alone. That’s the only piece of advice I have given to Ananya. I tried to use it myself too.”
Recently, Chunky presented a youth influencer award to Ananya on stage. It was a proud moment for the dad, who shares, “I went up on the stage, and Karan (Johar, filmmaker who launched Ananya in Student of the Year 2) asked me to say something. I couldn’t, because I was emotional, and almost wanted to burst into tears. It was just like yesterday that I was in her school, and putting a medal on her for winning a race! But here I was on the stage... I was speechless.”
The reason why the 57-yearold didn’t give Ananya any extensive advice on the do’s and don’ts of the industry is because he doesn’t want to “confuse” her.
“She has taken on what she always wanted to do in life, and talking about things like social bullying, etc... I never saw that [side] while she was growing up. She was a normal, girl next door. Suddenly she has become so mature, still keeping her youthfulness and happiness [intact],” he says.
All he tells her is that “these are the best moments. You have something which no one else has, you have your youth with you. Cash in on it and enjoy it. You can afford to make a few mistakes, just have fun. Don’t overthink”.