My mum’s very chill, I would be lost if not for her
Ananya Panday doesn’t want to leave her baby, her dog Riot, alone even for a minute. Bhavana Pandey, her mum, has only now learnt to let her baby go solo — in her new apartment. We chat up the duo, who are in the middle of a new series of unique firsts.
What sort of a mum was Bhavana while you were growing up, Ananya — a helicopter mom or a cool one?
Ananya: Not helicopter. In school, she was strict, involved in all my school work. I was the first child, and she would do all my projects. I wouldn’t say I was pampered, but she would help me revise everything. My mum secretly wanted to become an actor, someone in the family told me, that’s why she would get into my learning of poems and elocution. Also, I used to tell her about even the smallest of things. She was one of the more chill moms. She was involved when I started my career as an actor, I needed her. I would be lost if my mom was not there to help me.
Maybe Ananya realises what it’s like to be a mom, with the new baby in her life... Ananya:
It’s been a few days since Riot came home, and I messaged mum on the third night, saying ‘It’s tough to be a mother’! (laughs)
Bhavana: Ananya’s a lot like her father... Riot has only come now, so we have to see how her journey is. I used to be the one who would shower love on her when she was born, Chunky did, too, but he was paranoid about her. I remember at night, Ananya would be sleeping in her cot, and he would go to check if she is breathing. In the middle of the night.
Ananya: I do the same with Riot.
How’s it been for the two of you, ever since Ananya moved out? Bhavana, your younger daughter Rysa is also studying abroad.
Ananya: I am loving it! I never went* abroad to study, never lived outside my house. I was very protected. I am living alone but still close to parents. It is a healthy space, asking me to take responsibility and not depend on them. They are still a phone call away, but I am trying to take on as much responsibility as I can.
Bhavana: Ananya moved out in January. She wanted to get her own space as soon as she entered films. I felt she should not take added responsibility back then. How many people are fortunate to live in Mumbai, and have people looking after everything? I felt she should take advantage of it and concentrat on work. I was nervous in the beginning, but when Rysa went to the US, I realised I should let them fly.
You both are in showbiz, and social media is indispensable. How do the two of you react when you see the other person being trolled or facing negativity?
Ananya: I don’t read comment anymore.
Bhavana: It used to bother me what they wrote about her. I have realised that even if 100 people talk badly about you, it’s just a small speck in the universe. There are so many people that love you! I don’t think there is much bad written about me. At the most they will say ‘buddhi’ or ‘Why are these women doing this show, they are not star wives’. First, you, too, are going to be at that age one day, and secondly, we said ‘Bollywood wives’, not ‘star wives’.
I used to tell her about even the smallest of things. She was involved when I started my career as an actor, I needed her. ANANYA PANDAY, Actor
Ananya wanted her own space as soon as she entered films. I felt she should take advantage of [her privileges, such as her parents’ house] and concentrate on just work. BHAVANA PANDEY, Reality TV personality