HT Leadership Summit 2026: Imtiaz Ali and Ananya Panday talk love, changing dynamics of cinema

At the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Saturday, Imtiaz Ali and Ananya Panday spoke about their work, the changing tide of cinema and more.

What does it feel like to be a filmmaker in India today? “It’s a delicious phase,” said acclaimed director Imtiaz Ali, speaking at the 24th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Saturday. He and actor Ananya Panday discussed love stories, shifting trends, and the power of sometimes breaking the rules.

Imtiaz Ali and Ananya Panday discussed love and cinema at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Saturday. ((HT Photo))

Panday, 28, spoke about nepotism, safety on sets, her dream roles, and how “love is everything”. “I think Gen-Z is badnaam [notorious] for no reason,” she said, smiling.

There is the sense that young people do not want to fight hard for success, she added, but “it’s just our definition of success that’s different. Earlier, the sentiment was that if you hadn’t slogged mentally and physically, you hadn’t worked hard enough.” But success can now be achieved in so many different ways. “The way we approach success is different.”

Deep Dive

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Why do Imtiaz Ali and Ananya Panday say Indian cinema is changing?

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Attention spans are changing, Ali noted. “We are all asking: What will work?”

On the other hand, he added, distributors are seeing how varied the audience has become in its tastes. “The same people that watch [the movie] Ramayana will also want to watch [the independent movie] Pyre. Distributors know this.”

This makes the calculation of what will work, and how, more complicated, said Ali, 55. In June, he released his 10th directorial feature, the Partition-themed love story Main Vaapas Aaunga, to widespread acclaim. Did he worry, before the release, that young viewers might not relate? He didn’t, he said.

India loves stories with big emotions, Ali noted. Rather than attempting to woo a specific demographic, Ali added, “We should ask ourselves: What is a story I can tell; and try to tell it.” Stop looking for patterns; this has become a unique obsession of our times, he said. “Sometimes randomness works… the film industry is trying to break the pattern.” Discussing his recent release further, Ali talked about the importance of exploring the horrors of Partition, particularly from the perspective of a third-generation person now navigating this history. It isn’t just that people of all ages respond to a powerful tale, Ali noted. Young people in particular engage with stories of “big love and big loss” because they see it in films and read about it in books, but do not have as much of it in their young lives. “They can relate to it in a way previous generations would not.”

His next project, Ali said, is also a deeply personal tale, about the growth of affection in a couple parting ways.

Discussing her own journey, Panday addressed the subject of nepotism. “I am very proud to be my father’s daughter,” she said, adding that if she could help open the door for others, making sets safer for the next generation of young men and women entering the industry, she would consider that a win.

Panday described herself as a greedy actor, wanting to do every kind of character. “I love crying onscreen, maybe because I am not an emotional person in life. I do enjoy comedy a lot too.”

Love stories resonate with her generation, Panday said, because there is a nostalgic feeling for that kind of big, enduring romance. “Our standards of love are very high, and we do not want to settle.”

“For me, love is everything,” she said, adding: “I would like to be married and have children.”

The most significant new reality of Indian cinema, Panday noted, was the sense of reassurance from seeing all kinds of movies meet with success.

“As an industry, we are not following a recipe or relying on old tricks. Something like [the 2025 Malayalam film] Lokah, the story of a female superhero, is working alongside a film like Main Vaapas Aaunga, which is such a beautiful unhurried film that made its way into the hearts of the audience.”

In a final quick-fire questionnaire, Panday noted that one modern-day obsession the world could do without was “cancel culture”, as even a small mistake could see one shunned.

Her biggest takeaway from life so far? “At the risk of sounding Gen Z, my motto would be YOLO. We struggle with the present, and overthink every interaction. I think we should stop doing that.”

Ending the conversation on a hopeful note, Ali laid out his mantra for life: Seek connections with people. “Life is about people. The ability to connect with people, and to learn from people,” he said. Another thing we shouldn’t lose is moderation. “I think it’s also good to be irrational and not follow all the rules sometimes.”