Ananya Panday entered the film industry with Student of The Year 2 in 2019 and has experienced a mix of hits and misses since then. However, she discovered her artistic footing with movies like Gehraiyaan and Kho Gaye Hum Kahan.
Ananya candidly acknowledged that she had taken on certain projects in the past for reasons that weren’t entirely right.
Ananya Panday opens up on doing projects for the wrong reasons in past
During a recent interaction with Film Companion, Ananya Panday mentioned that whenever she acted in a film she wasn’t passionate about, it reminded her of the importance of choosing projects for genuine reasons. She said, “I think maybe I did it for the wrong reasons, and I always knew that somewhere in my heart. Then when it didn’t go exactly as planned, I think it reinforced my belief in myself a lot more that you just have to go with your instinct because that’ll always pay off. You know working with good people, doing a script you believe in, in some way, is always going to pay off.”
Ananya then mentioned that she has now developed a deep passion for acting and feels a strong sense of responsibility towards the characters she chooses to portray. She said, “I feel like I’ve lost myself and I’ve just fallen in love with the process of it (acting).” She added, “I don’t want to do less, and I feel like it’ll be a disappointment to so many you know women and girls out there if I reduce them to that as well.” She pointed out that ultimately, she’s portraying characters on screen and telling their stories. Therefore, she doesn’t want to do any injustice to them in that manner.
Ananya also mentioned that filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane helped her understand that she tends to make decisions about scripts without considering others’ opinions. She said, “As Vikram sir said, I’ve always been a people pleaser and a teacher’s pet, so it’s very important for me to get better with everything that I do. So every time I’m choosing a script that’s why maybe he said I don’t listen to too many people around me. It has to come from within. If I have to be convinced to do something, it never goes right.”
The actress mentioned that through her experience, she has learned that the initiative always has to originate from her. There should always be something fresh that she’s contributing or something new she’s going to learn with every project she undertakes.
