"Fame is the Cherry on Top; It's Not the End Goal For Everyone": Ananya Panday

There’s something refreshing about Ananya Panday, the 23-year-old who speaks her mind with a certain irreverence for social mores... It’s her candid approach to life that makes Ananya so endearing, no matter that the very quality has sometimes got her into situations that were tougher than she had anticipated—especially the online trolling. An “over-sharer” and “open book” as she professes, Ananya is willing to make mistakes. And yet, there is a certain maturity to the young actor that has inspired her to rise from her personal challenges, particularly the vitriol on social media. In 2019, she launched the So Positive campaign to spread awareness about how to deal with and report online abuse. And today, she has decided to take a more Zen approach towards social media, with her recent discovery of the Mute button on Instagram...her favourite way to ignore accounts that drain or demotivate her. Ananya is not here for a confrontation; it’s the solution that motivates her.  

Read this special conversation with Cosmo as the covergirl speaks about her dreams, family, inspiring women, and why her ultimate goal is simply to be happy...

 

Cosmo: In the midst of the lockdown, you had shared that you couldn’t wait to get back to work. What state are you in now?

 

Ananya Panday: “Oh, I’m feeling more enthusiastic than ever before! The Gehraiyaan teaser dropped at the end of last year and since then, there have been so many conversations, opinions, and much excitement around the film and our performances... Now, I’m looking to be completely ‘blank’ before I begin working on my next film. I’m really craving a sense of neutrality; I want to spend some time pondering over what others thought of my performance, and also what I think of my own work, so that I can take those learnings forward. I’m craving this clean slate so that I can completely focus on my new project, because filming begins in less than a month.” 
 

C: What are you doing to find that sense of neutrality?

AP: “I have tried to reduce the noise around me, which could be in any form. I realised that on social media, one is surrounded by so much clutter—you don’t even realise how much of what you see might be affecting you in the long run. You might think that you will be able to ignore something that you see or scroll past, quite literally, but things stick in your head and they come out in different ways. 
So, I’ve begun to distance myself from such inputs, which could even mean muting certain pages on Instagram that I feel are overwhelming at a given point. I believe that spending time with myself is very important because during promotions, there are so many people around, you don’t get a moment to reflect or think. So that’s what I’m doing right now—I am trying to spend as much time with myself as I can.”

 

C: Tell us a bit more about muting certain Instagram accounts...

AP: “We end up spending so much time on social media, for work or fun, without realising what we’re feeding and nourishing our minds with. I believe that we need to make a conscious choice and switch—it may work for you or it may not. For me, it definitely has. We need to choose what information we allow into our lives because we may think that it won’t affect us, but it could in a way that we may not even realise. And that could spill over into our relationships, or cause unnecessary negativity. 
So rather than blocking or unfollowing, I choose to Mute accounts for a certain period of time until I am ready to allow them back into my life.”

 

C: And do you also follow this philosophy in your life? 

AP: “I try to. Even though I don’t think I’m completely aware of what is affecting me and what’s not... With social media, I’ve been able to draw the line, after nearly seven years of being on it... But it’s all about learning. And once you realise the truth, it becomes all about acting on it.”

 

C: You recently shared that you have become more careful in the way that you’re putting yourself out there, especially after your recent film release. Tell us more about that...

AP: “It’s weird because right before this interview, I was literally thinking about that... About me being 23, and that if I was not in the film industry or on a platform, I might still be making the mistakes I used to earlier. How I’d be going about my life without every word I say being constantly scrutinised... I have been dwelling on wanting to be myself and putting myself out there in the most authentic way, and I am willing to go through that journey. I am someone who is okay with making mistakes and letting people see that side of me. But for personal growth, I also feel like I need to learn to protect certain things and keep them just for myself. Everyone doesn’t have to know everything about me, and that doesn’t mean I am not being real or honest. 
I think I need to strike a balance because when you reveal a certain side about yourself, your self-reflection can get muddled based on what others say. I need to realise that I am allowed to keep things to myself, I don’t have to share everything, and no one’s expecting it from me that often either. I am just an oversharer and I am an open book, in that sense. I am trying to not be too hard on myself.”

 

C: And how has your relationship with social media changed over the years? 

AP: “Honestly, because of my recent discovery of the Mute feature on Instagram, I choose what I want to see and absorb. So at the moment, my relationship with social media is pretty good, because I’ve learned how to navigate it. It does get overwhelming sometimes, but I think the best way is to just switch it off. It’s a cold solution but, sometimes, you just have to do it for your own peace of mind.”

 

C: And how has the buzz around Gehraiyaan left you feeling? 

AP: “I’m feeling energised....it’s that light, happy feeling of seeing all of us come out of such a difficult situation. Hopefully, we’re all going to come out a bit stronger and kinder. And creating things in a safe, productive way is what I’m hoping for, going forward as well. Yesterday, I went to watch the new Batman movie in the theatre, and even though I had my mask on, it felt a lot more normal than things were before. I think life, now, is about being grateful for the smaller things, which is something we have all learnt during the pandemic. Now, it’s about carrying that love and those lessons ahead, since life is beginning all over again.”

 

C: Having portrayed a complex female character in the film, are you finding yourself leaning towards more layered characters? 

AP: “I am definitely looking towards more honest characters, of any sort. More than layered, I’m searching for honesty in the story and its message, what the filmmakers or writers are trying to say, and just the life of the character.”

 

C: You once said in an interview that women in films were either portrayed as the “b*tch” or the “bechari” [helpless person]. What are your views now and what direction do you see Bollywood and OTT productions taking moving towards?

AP: “That phrase is from a book I was reading at the time, and it came up in a conversation, but I do agree with the statement. Even though sometimes artists and performers think they’re doing something different, they could still be putting women in a box. For instance, even if an actor is playing the role of a bad*ss, she might be a ‘one-tone’ bad*ss. So we end up back to square one: the heroine is either just a bechari, or just a b*tch. But in real life, no-one is just one type of person. Each one of us has so many different facets, and I think it’s time we began exploring them... I think it’s a great time to be an actor right now because people are taking that leap of faith and investing in women and their stories. And the audience wants that—I, as an, audience want that. I know and have that much faith in the Indian audience that everyone wants stories like that. 
I definitely think things are changing, but no change takes place overnight. However, it’s a start, and it feels great to be a part of the start.”

 

C: How has your relationship with fame changed over the last few years? 

 

AP: “Honestly, because of my recent discovery of the Mute feature on Instagram, I choose what I want to see and absorb. So at the moment, my relationship with social media is pretty good, because I’ve learned how to navigate it. It does get overwhelming sometimes, but I think the best way is to just switch it off. It’s a cold solution but, sometimes, you just have to do it for your own peace of mind.”

 

Photographs: Arjun Mark; Styling: Samar Rajput; Make-Up: Stacy Gomes; Hair: Ayesha Devitre; Videographer: Ishan Singh; Location: J.W. Marriott, Juhu