‘Gehraiyaan’ changed me as a person, says Ananya Panday

The connection drama is out on OTT quickly

“I’m a stalker and I’m shameless about it,” pronounces Bollywood’s quintessential millennial, Ananya Panday, referencing her social media proclivities.

At 23 she is on the cusp of an eventful profession with some unorthodox film/character decisions together with an unconventional debut in 2019’s Scholar of the Yr 2.

The Bollywood insider, courtesy actor dad Chunky Panday and mum Bhavana (who made her OTT debut in 2020 with the much-talked about actuality present Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives) went on to look the identical yr in one more uncommon alternative, Pati Patni Aur Woh.

The darkish comedy Khaali Peeli (additionally starring Ishaan Khatter) adopted and it’s clear Ananya just isn’t right here to tread the tried and examined path to stardom.

“Actually there was no plan,” avers the actress over a Zoom dialog. “I simply knew I needed to be an actor as quickly as I popped out of my mother and I’ve all the time been interested in robust, complicated, gray, highly effective feminine characters in no matter means and that has mirrored in a few of the decisions that I’ve made, be it SOTY, Pati Patni, Khaali Peeli, Gehraiyaan now and even the movies that I’m taking pictures,” she says.

“They’re actual, relatable characters and rising up we actually seemed for feminine characters on display screen that we may establish with. As a younger lady, even after I was 12 or 13, I’ve been acutely aware of how I need to see myself represented on display screen. That’s been one thing I’ve been conscious about and truthfully that’s what I’m interested in. It isn’t a part of a plan, it’s truly what comes from inside.”

WATCH: CT INTERVIEW WITH ANANYA PANDAY

‘Everyone seems to be flawed’

It’s most likely additionally what drew her to the position of Tia Khanna in Gehraiyaan the place she performs a woman confronted with heartbreak when she realises her fiancé Zain might be dishonest on her.

The Amazon Prime Video drama (out on February 11) directed by Shakun Batra boasts an ensemble solid together with Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Dhairya Karwa, Rajat Kapur and Naseeruddin Shah. Ananya is of course “overwhelmed” with the response to the trailer of the connection drama that sees her delve into unchartered territory.

And whereas a few of the emotional depths plumbed within the film could also be a bit alien to the teenager, she is raring to embrace the brand new. “It could be unfair to say I’ve gone via what Tia has within the movie — I’m actually younger, most of my relationships have been these highschool crushes, holding fingers in a category and all of that, so I’ve positively not been via that.

“However quite a lot of Tia’s traits are just like how I’m as an individual. Shakun truly talked about that even earlier than I used to be solid within the movie he thought that I’d be similar to Tia, which is fairly loopy as a result of I’m! Her loyal aspect, her loving aspect, how she’s dependent in a relationship, her insecurity — I’ve skilled these feelings — not at that scale perhaps, so it was a journey inwards, exploring these emotions that I’ve fleetingly gone via to essentially dive into it.”

However Ananya can also be clear that it was not simply Tia however all of the characters that attracted her to Gehraiyaan. “I favored the truth that the film was not a judgment, it was an statement of recent complicated relationships. They weren’t villanising anybody and on the identical time I favored the truth that everybody had their gray aspect, everybody had a darkish, ugly aspect to them and that’s how generally people are.”

She goes on so as to add that individuals present totally different variations of themselves to these round them. “I like that Gehraiyaan reveals all of the layers of that. Each character is totally different in entrance of various folks in several conditions and that’s fairly refreshing and relatable to see.”

The film, which was filmed primarily in Goa, noticed the solid and crew thrown collectively within the midst of a pandemic — one thing that helped them bond higher. Ananya admits her expectations from the film have been excessive proper from the start and “the truth that these have been surpassed has made it much more particular and enriching as a result of it was a dream for me to work with Shakun.”

“He was on my want record of administrators to work with. The expertise modified me not simply as an actor however as an individual,” she explains.

“Each particular person I’ve encountered on this movie — be it the first solid of the movie, be it Deepika, Sid, Dhairya, Nasir Sir, Rajat sir, the writers, the ADs, the DP, the editor — has helped type the particular person I’m at present. As a result of we have been all thrown collectively in the midst of a pandemic, we shot collectively for two months in Goa and we couldn’t assist however turn into household, so it’s actually modified the individual that I’m.”

What’s love…

Going ahead Ananya has her kitty full with Liger starring Southern heartthrob Vijay Deverakonda and Kho Gaye Hum Kahan with Siddhant Chaturvedi and Adarsh Gourav. However proper now she simply needs to benefit from the second with all of the plaudits coming her means publish the trailer launch of Gehraiyaan.

With the film streaming in ‘the month of affection’, she admits that it will not be the perfect Valentine’s Day movie to observe, “as a result of it’s not a love story. It’s about complicated relationships; about how 4 persons are when they’re thrown right into a scenario, how they react to it. Actually, we aren’t this movie via rose tinted glasses — we aren’t glorifying or endorsing something, we aren’t passing any judgments for positive. It is dependent upon the viewers, what they need to take away from this.”

Whereas the film has been tagged as exploring the intricacies of recent day relationships with all its complexities, Ananya says, “there isn’t any proper or mistaken in a scenario like this. I’m curious to know the dialog that stems from the views that they (viewers) have on this movie.”

For a millennial, Ananya’s stance on romance and love is fairly sensible. “Rising up Bollywood and particularly Dharma ruined what love is meant to be,” she says with a smile, “as a result of they constructed up this picture of somebody who’s going to return and sweep you away and perhaps fall madly and helplessly in love. However for me the thought of affection retains altering. I’ve lastly determined upon love stemming from friendship and communication, that’s my stance on love proper now.”

So she isn’t precisely the sort to go stalking her boyfriends on Insta not like her profile on the social media platform that has her proudly proclaiming herself to be a ‘Serial Chiller’ and ‘Non-public Investigator.’

She is just glad to elaborate… “I’m the largest stalker ever! In case you give me a reputation and also you need to discover out details about somebody — for instance if any of my associates favored a man and stated, hear, I don’t even know his final identify… I can discover out (with a shrug of her shoulders) his janampatri (horoscope), his nickname! I’m going so deep into it — into the gehraiyaans (depths) — I see their aunts, cousins and I bear in mind issues additionally! I’m a stalker and I’m shameless about it!”

Working with Deepika Padukone

Gehraiyaan sees Ananya co-starring with an skilled actress like Deepika Padukone. The duo who play cousins share quite a lot of display screen house within the film and in the course of the media interactions forward of the discharge have been seen indulging in quite a lot of mild hearted banter.

The younger actress avers; “Deepika has set the bar very very excessive for all of us. Simply the actor that she is and the alternatives she has made previously, the characters she has picked up, have given quite a lot of aspiring actors the braveness to go on the market and it additionally provides writers and filmmakers quite a lot of confidence that individuals need to see characters like this.”

She goes on so as to add, “As an actor Deepika has impressed me lots and it was a blessing for me to play off her on display screen and react to her and it helped my efficiency lots as effectively.”

On the identical time the younger actress can also be clear that Gehraiyaan just isn’t a girl oriented movie — “the very fact is that complicated feminine characters can coexist with complicated male characters, that’s how life is.

“All of us undergo it and our complexities and choices have an effect on different folks. Probably the most enticing a part of the film for me was how actual and gray each character was — how flawed each character was. Nobody was being judged in any means.”

Gehraiyaan is out on Amazon Prime Video on Feb 1