Ananya Panday: I believe in healthy competition with my contemporaries

Actor Ananya Panday talks about supporting her contemporaries, why the fame doesn’t go to her head, and more.

At the age of 22, Ananya Panday has already had three releases and is shooting for two more apart from having more projects lined up. But the actor says she isn’t looking to be part of any rat race.

Actor Ananya Panday will be seen next in Liger opposite Vijay Deverakonda.

“I believe in healthy competition. It can be really fun and motivating,” is how she looks at her contemporaries. “Having said that, I really get happy when other people of my age are doing something good. I was really excited to watch Coolie No 1 (2020), and kept telling Sara (Ali Khan, actor) she’s so fabulous in all songs. We jam to each other’s music. I am happy when I see everyone do well. I am also motivated, it helps me set the benchmark higher,” she says.

Liger, opposite Vijay Deverakonda, and Shakun Batra’s untitled next are on Panday’s 2021 calendar. Getting carried away with the fame would be pretty easy, but Panday has people around her to keep her focused.

“My family and friends keep me grounded. I still have the same friends I had when I was four years old. I was in the same school with the same batch mates for twelve years. Nothing in my personal life has changed at all. Once I am done shooting, I am at home, a normal girl who fights with her sister, and her parents don’t allow her things (laughs) Both my parents (actor Chunkey Panday and Bhavana) are extremely humble,” says the actor.

Panday has seen the industry change a lot from her father’s time. She adds, “Definitely people are different here, it’s like a different zone now, compared to when my dad became a part of it. I feel there’s still a sense of unity, brotherhood and family in the industry, which has been kind and welcoming towards me. I feel they are very supportive and kind people. All the film I worked in, and the other two, I have made sort of a family on all those sets. I am in touch with most people.”

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