Ananya Panday

Kartik Aaryan

Alia Bhatt

Kartik Aaryan

Ananya with friends Suhana Khan and Shanaya Kapoor

Ananya Panday

Debutanteopens up about dream date, former student and idoland why charges of nepotism don’t bother her.Ananya Panday, the 20-yearold daughter of Chunky and Bhavana Panday, is all set to make her debut with Student of the Year 2 (SOTY2) and without mincing words admits that she chose films over college in real-life, “Ever since I popped out of my mom, films have been my dream. But despite the fact that dad is an actor, my parents never made me feel stardom would come to me on a platter. After I graduated from high school, I was told to apply to colleges and audition if I wanted to break into movies. I got into the University of Southern California and was all set to fly off when I heard that they were auditioning for SOTY 2 and decided to give it a shot and ended up with the role of Shreya. I was wondering what to opt for: Academics or acting? It was a difficult decision but this is what I’ve wanted to do all my life,” she rattles off.She’s already fielded the nepotism jibe sportingly, during her debut appearance on producer Karan Johar’s chat show, and reiterates that she’s aware she is privileged, coming from a film family. “That’s half the battle won,” she acknowledges, but is quick to add that you can get into these rooms, but what you do there depends on you. “If you’re not talented, people won’t invest in you. Period. But at the same time, I don’t want to be silly and give up an opportunity like this because people are bashing me for being someone’s daughter. If they don’t like me in the film, I’ll accept that, but at least watch the film.”Ananya’s leading man Tiger Shroff also comes from a film family and she recalls an interesting meeting. “Many say Tiger is shy but around me he never was. I met him when I was 16, his first film, Heropanti, had just released. Mom sent me across to ask him for advice. As I walked in, I saw him execute the perfect full split. He then went on to tell me that if I wanted to be an actress, I couldn’t eat ice-cream anymore and I’d have to wake up at 4am to train. It was scary!” she shudders.There have been comparisons with Alia Bhatt, one of the ‘students’ from the 2012 original. Ananya states unabashedly, “Alia’s my idol, she’s so real and so am I. She has never claimed to be perfect, perfect is boring. People have seen her grow over the last seven years and I hope they will see me grow as an actress too with every film I do.”Even before the release of her debut film, she has kicked off her next, the Pati Patni Aur Woh remake, also featuring Kartik Aaryan and Bhumi Pednekar. “It’s exciting that I am getting to do a film so different from SOTY 2. We have just completed the first schedule. I’ve watched the original (the BR Chopradirected 1978 film, with Sanjeev Kumar, Vidya Sinha and Ranjeeta Kaur, a humorous take on an extra-marital relationship) and can say our film is a modernised version that youngsters will relate to,” she avers.On Koffee With Karan season 6, after Sara Ali Khan confessed her ‘crush’ on Kartik, Ananya also admitted she finds the actor “damn cute”. Both girls expressed their wish to go on a date with him and when KJo reminded Ananya that Sara was already in line, she retorted, “Yeah, so I want to go on that date where Sara and him are going.”Bring up the subject of Kartik with her and she maintains, without without blushing, “I’m 20 and it’s normal to have a crush on someone. I’m open about my feelings. Yes, I find Kartik cute and I’m lucky I’ve got a chance to work with him.”Both her films has her sharing footage with another leading lady, Tara Sutaria in SOTY 2 and Bhumi Pednekar in Pati Patni Aur Woh. Ananya is unfazed by the competition. “I love competition, otherwise you begin to take things lightly. And with Tara in my first film, the pressure is not only on me. I’ve not shot with Bhumi yet but being in the frame with her will help elevate my acting skills,” she beams. Is having the bigger or more impactful role a consideration? “A bigger part is not something I think about but impactful, for sure. I don’t mind a two-minute role if I love my character. I’ll even do a film with ten other girls,” she shrugs.When not shooting, the millennial is often papped hanging out with childhood buddy, Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan’s daughter Suhana and Sanjay and Maheep Kapoor’s daughter Shanaya. She’s excited that she is the first of the gang to take the plunge into films. “This is our collective dream, I’m waiting for them to come into films too. I didn’t tell them about SOTY 2 for a long time because I didn’t want to disappoint them in case it didn’t work out. They are always posting my links and speaking to people about me,” she points out.So, when did the acting bug bite? “ SOTY was a huge inspiration, I was 14 or 15 and remember accompanying my parents to a screening. I wasn’t allowed in because it was a 11pm show. I begged mom to let me in and sat on the floor because there were no seats available. When I saw Alia as Shanaya, I knew this was what I wanted to do too. It was a surreal feeling! I wanted the Dharma theme song (goes on to croon it) to play at the start of my film too,” she flashbacks.In SOTY2 she plays a loud and fearless character who won’t take a “no” for an answer. “And I was this shy 18-year-old who was terrified of the camera,” she laughs, saying that Puneet helped her open up. “Today, I’m a chatty girl.”Does she have any memories of visiting her dad on the sets as a kid? “Dad never took me to work as it’s not professional, and he never came on my sets because he didn’t want to draw away attention from me. He wants me to enjoy my moments in the sun. He saw the trailer directly on YouTube,” Ananya shares, saying that they don’t talk about their feelings for each other. “But he watches my trailer 12 times a day.”