You have to block mindless trolling but some criticism is important feedback: Ananya Panday

PTI, Jan 8, 2024, 5:20 PM IST

Ananya Panday (Source: Instagram)

You can’t get too carried away by either praise or hate, says actor Ananya Panday, who is earning rave reviews for her performance in ”Kho Gaye Hum Kahan”, a film she describes as a relevant story that captures the impact of social media on youth.

Panday, who made her movie debut with 2019’s ”Student of the Year 2”, has often been targeted by online trolls for her comments, fashion choices and sometimes, just for hailing from a film family.

The 25-year-old, who is the daughter of actor Chunky Panday, said she has been vocal about people expressing themselves and learning from their mistakes. She believes whatever she has experienced since she became an actor has contributed to her growth.

”If I hadn’t been exposed to those emotions, I would probably not be able to perform a certain way. So I’m grateful for whatever’s happened because I have been allowed to express myself through my work. And, some criticism is actually helpful and important feedback. Obviously, you have to block out the mindless trolling,” Panday told PTI in an interview.

Asked about the praise that has come her way post ”Kho Gaye…” and 2022’s ”Gehraiyaan”, the actor said she has learned to take all feedback in her stride.

”I feel like people’s perceptions change every Friday. You can’t get too carried away by praise or by hate. You have to keep working hard, that’s the best you can do. You can’t change the way people speak, so you can only work on yourself. That’s what I have learned,” added Panday, who also runs a digital social responsibility initiative against online bullying.

She is happy that people have connected with her character of Ahana, a workaholic marketing executive, who feels stuck in her relationship and career, and takes to social media to seek validation. Panday said the film, also starring Siddhant Chaturvedi and Adarsh Gourav, was one of the ”best working experiences” she has had. Netflix’s ”Kho Gaye Hum Kahan” is directed by Arjun Varain Singh and released on December 26.

”I want to be able to play characters that go beyond generation, that people always remember, people feel happy when they think about and they feel like they can relate to,” said the actor, recalling growing up on films such as ”Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Naa”, ”Ye Jawani Hai Deewani” and ”Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”.

”Kho Gaye…” captures the pitfalls of hyper-connectivity in the Internet era and the constant need for validation from strangers through the story of three friends, who are unable to move forward in life for different reasons whether it’s Panday’s Ahana, Chaturvedi’s Imaad, a stand-up comic hiding a tragedy, or Gourav’s Neil, a fitness instructor trying to make it big.

Through the film, Panday said, they wanted to understand the current generation and depict ”what’s going on around all of us”. ”We all felt it, all the actors, the director… Everyone felt like this was happening in their lives and people weren’t talking about it. It is such a relevant issue because it’s not just about social media. It’s about the way relationships have changed.”

Panday, who is an active Instagram user but is ”too scared” of X, said the film helped her relook at her own relationship with social media.

”At the end of the day, everyone has to realise that it is just for fun and it can be all taken away with just a click of a button. You just shut your phone and it’s all gone. And, there’s a real world out there with actual people and connections to form.” Panday has received acclaim for some of the emotional scenes in the movie, but the actor said those came easy to her as opposed to fun moments in the film.

”Strangely, for me, the toughest part as an actor is to laugh on screen. And, this is one of those films where there were moments where the friends are hanging out and we had to laugh and I just couldn’t do it,” the actor recalled.

What helped her was a workshop with acting coach Atul Mongia. ”He does this exercise where he does ‘every degree of an emotion’, where you have to go from zero to hundred. I could do anger, sadness, everything, but I just couldn’t do happiness and laughter. He made me sit in the middle of a room. First, he made me cry and then, he made me laugh,” she said.

Panday’s upcoming projects include Vikramaditya Motwane’s film ”Control” and her debut web series ”Call Me Bae”, a fun chick-flick, and an untitled film.

”As an actor, it’s gratifying that directors like Zoya (Akhtar – co-writer of ‘Kho Gaye…’), Shakun (Batra – ‘Gehraiyaan’), and Vikram sir… They see something in me and want to work with me. To me, that’s the best reward as an actor to work with people where I can learn something and grow,” she said.