Ananya Panday: ‘I Wouldn’t Say I’m Filtered But A Little More Conscious’ (EXCLUSIVE)

At 27, Ananya Panday is nearing a decade in the film industry. From her early days in popcorn entertainers like "Student of the Year 2" and "Pati, Patni Aur Woh "to her gradually evolved performances in "Gehraiyaan", "CTRL", "Kho Gaye Hum Kahan", and "Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story Of Jallianwala Bagh", the actor has earned recognition from critics and cinephiles alike.

In conversation with Variety India, Ananya opens up about the evolution of her craft, the roles that challenged her, and what makes her feel more self-assured, grounded, and craft-focused and if the shift was conscious. "Yes, it definitely was conscious. I was 18 when I started out…still a teenager when I began working, got my first film and started giving interviews and all of that. So, I feel like I've grown up in front of people, they've seen my journey. So it was conscious, but it was also a natural thing - like any normal girl would change from 18 to 27. I've also had that natural growing up, but just in front of the public eye. But it's also been conscious. I think I've become a lot more aware of what I'm putting out of myself. I’ve always been an open book, and I still am, but now I know where to say what, which I didn’t earlier. So I wouldn’t say I’m filtered, but I’m a little more conscious," states Ananya.

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What worked in Ananya's favour was that when she started getting good reviews for her work, the noise around everything else faded. Ask her how she manages to shine bright amidst bigger names and star presence, and the actor answers, "I think it was about opportunity. Shakun Batra gave me that opportunity. When it came to "Gehraiyaan", no one was seeing me in a role like that. No one thought I could do something like that. So he gave me that chance. And working with him really made me fall in love with the craft of acting. We did workshops properly for the first time, which I had not really done before. He taught me things that have stayed with me, like backstories, even though they're not a part of what's going to be shown on screen. He taught me so much about subtext, so many acting games we played, and improvisation that really comes in handy for me now, with any project that I do. So I feel like it was an opportunity for me - about someone who believes in me - so I could also push myself to do better."

Ananya asserts that post films like "Gehraiyaan", "Kho Gaye Hum Kahan", makers and co-stars have started taking her more seriously. "When someone sees you do something, they’ll say, 'Oh, she can do this? We never thought she could do that.' I think that's what happened with "Gehraiyaan". Vikramaditya Motwane saw me in that film. And he was like, 'Oh, she's quite mature. I didn't see that side of her before,' and that's how I got the chance to work with him on "CTRL." So it's kind of a domino effect when people see you do something. I was very lucky to be a part of "Kesari Chapter 2", and people were pretty surprised with what we did with that film. The fact that the makers pictured me in that role, and I'm hoping now that's also going to create a ripple effect, and people see me in more things."

Upon being asked which role so far reflects the closest version of who she is and Ananya reveals, "The one I would say is more similar to who I am is probably Ahana from "Kho Gaye Hum Kahan". And not just me; I feel like every young girl or boy from our generation has been an Ahana at some point in their life. And I really related to her to the point where I thought Arjun Varain Singh, the director, had put a camera in my room for the last six months and was spying on me, because something similar happened to me that happened to Ahana. So she was very, very relatable, and I still get so many messages and so many people come up to me and they're like, 'You know what you guys did in "Kho Gaye Hum Kahan" the characters you all played, we felt seen,' and I love that about cinema, because as you said, you feel seen, you feel like there's someone else like you in the world - you’re not alone. It provides you comfort. And there’s something comforting about playing someone close to you because it's almost cathartic; you get to release a lot of stuff you may not have in real life. And then there's comfort in playing someone who ain’t like you because you can completely hide behind a mask and do something crazy you've never done before."