Four-and-a-half years after making her acting debut with Student Of The Year 2, Ananya Panday witnessed her biggest critical success with Kho Gaye Hum Kahan. The Netflix film, in which she played a youngster obsessed with seeking validation and attention from social media, has been winning her immense acclaim. Riding high on the love that continues to come her way, Ananya, in a freewheeling chat with News18 Showsha, says that she feels ‘extremely validated’ now that people have noticed her for her acting chops.
She exclusively tells us, “It’s very assuring for an actor when people like your work and that’s what I’ve always worked towards. It feels like finally I’m reaping the fruit of my hard work, dedication and love towards my craft. What this film has taught me more than anything else is to work with good people and be proud of the work that I do and in the end, it will always pay off.”
But what she’s particularly elated with is the response she has received from her female contemporaries. Slamming the chatter that often pits her against her peers, she states that she shares a great rapport with most of them and lauds herself for not shying away from doing two-heroine projects.
Calling herself ‘the flag bearer of women being friends with each other’, the 25-year-old candidly shares, “After watching this film, Alia (Bhatt) and Mrunal (Thakur) called and Kriti (Sanon) messaged me. I think it’s just an outside perception that women don’t support each other. But I’ve only encountered supportive female friends. I’ve done many two-girl films. I’ve worked with Tara (Sutaria), Bhumi (Pednekar) and Deepika (Padukone), and I’ve only had wonderful experiences with them.”
So, how did she celebrate the success of Kho Gaye Hum Kahan? “After the release, the entire team felt so proud and happy. I celebrated it by disconnecting a little bit. I think that’s the best way of celebrating a film like this. I rebooted and reflected my life and spent time with my tribe. That was how I paid ode to the film,” says Ananya, who rang in the New Year in London with beau Aditya Roy Kapur.
But there’s a ‘funny story’ behind how she bagged Kho Gaye Hum Kahan. Reminiscing how she decided to impress Arjun Varain Singh, who arrived on the sets of Gehraiyaan to narrate the script to Siddhant Chaturvedi, she remarks, “I had heard that the film was getting made when I was shooting with Sid in Goa. I was like, ‘Shit, I really want to be a part of the film.’ It sounded so exciting! But I didn’t know how to be a part of it. When I heard that Arjun was coming, I dressed up as a tomboy. I wore basketball shots and ganji and told everyone, ‘Come on guys, let’s play football.’ I became like one of the bros and Arjun just went, ‘Wow, she’s exactly like Ahana. Let’s audition her.’ Then I auditioned for it and luckily got the part (laughs).”
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