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HT Brunch Cover Story: Old-School, New Ideas
Actor Chunky Panday and his daughter, actor Ananya Panday, are two peas in a pod, helping each other navigate life and work
“I wanted her to be the quintessential heroine of masala movies,” says Chunky Panday, 59. “But she keeps telling me it is all about acting and showcasing one’s talent!”
23-year-old Ananya can’t help but protest. “It’s been just three years since I entered the industry and I am really enjoying the preparation process and the hard work that goes into creating a character,” she argues. “I have just begun to explore and I have so much to learn. I don’t want to limit myself to any one kind of cinema or content. I want to try out everything!”
Father and daughter stare at each other in mock disappointment. Then they laugh hysterically.
Signs of the future
Chunky can’t be blamed for hoping Ananya will do the kind of roles his co-actors did when he played an active role in the film industry. After all, even Ananya concedes that she popped out of her mummy’s tummy determined to make a song and dance about life. As an infant, toddler, child and teen, Ananya Panday was all about the movies.
“She would be the first to start dancing at any party; she would start performing at the drop of a hat. Very early on, she was showing all the signs of becoming a heroine,” laughs Chunky.
“I was obsessed with movies and still am!” Ananya agrees. “I would recreate scenes and the dances. I was so smitten by Poo in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham that I copied almost every outfit she wore. I watched that film so many times that I can still recite it scene-by-scene! I was obsessed with Hrithik Roshan and I remember screaming his name when I spotted him somewhere.”
“And she used to dance like Hrithik, emulating all those steps,” Chunky chuckles.
Ananya grew up watching Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan movies. “She was not just star-struck, she was very star-struck!” Chunky emphasises. “She was a huge Hrithik Roshan fan! She was watching Shah Rukh Khan movies and the new releases when she was three or four years old! She started watching my films much later, though it was a curated list. Those were retro for her, but she loved them.”
A life less ordinary
All this seems so far, so normal(ish). But as the daughter of a Hindi film hero, Ananya’s life was, and is, rather different from ours.
For example, as affecting as an on-screen death may be for a movie’s audience, there is no explaining the trauma that a seven-year-old child feels when the person being killed on-screen is her father. “Although my dad was sitting right next to me, I howled as I watched that scene. I just couldn’t process it,” Ananya recollects. “That movie [D, 2005] scarred me for life.”
And then there’s the fact that the child’s uncles and aunties are somewhat well known. After all, Ananya’s besties include Suhana Khan and Shanaya Kapoor.
“Shah Rukh sir and Sanjay sir were very hands-on parents and always found time for us,” Ananya remembers. “Shah Rukh sir would help Suhana and me train for our sports day and our Taekwondo classes. In fact, one of them would always be present to help us out, be it for our annual day function, football matches, whatever it was. It was and still is like a large family. They were also huge inspirations while growing up.”
As ‘normal’ as Ananya tries to make this sound, even she admits that it isn’t really. C’mon—how many people have the Shah Rukh Khan train them for sports day! “Well!” she shrugs. “Who isn’t a fan of Shah Rukh Khan? But I am a very big fan of the person he is off-screen as well. He made a huge contribution in shaping me into the person I am today. He always ensured that we were raised well and were treated just like other kids.”
The eye of the storm
For those of us born without the benefit of film star parents, Ananya’s life seems the very epitome of privilege. This explains why, when she made her debut in Karan Johar’s Student of the Year 2 (for which she picked up the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut), she was thrown right in the middle of the raging nepotism debate. Not only was she left shaken, so was her father.
“I have been in this industry for around 35 years and it’s been like a family, we all look out for one another,” says Chunky. “But, today, thanks to social media, an actor’s fate is decided almost every day. You don’t know what will get you trolled. I get affected when Ananya gets trolled or when there is a controversy around her. I don’t show it to her or speak out, but it’s there.”
The only thing that gets Chunky through the horror of being unable to defend his child, a woman who is constantly being attacked simply because she is his daughter, is how Ananya herself gets through the nastiness.
“I see how happy she is with the kind of work she is doing and I feel better. She creates her own happiness,” Chunky says. He also pulls from his own experiences in the film industry to talk her through the nightmare.
“I tell her that people talk about her because she is popular. When you are a failure, people write you off, they don’t keep talking about you. It is when you are successful that people keep talking about you. I try to get her to focus on the brighter side. But it is difficult to see your child being subjected to such things,” he says.
Ananya reacted to the attacks by launching So Positive, a digital campaign designed to spread awareness about social media bullying. But it was her ability to laugh at herself, which she has inherited from her dad, that kept her going.
“I think it is very important to be able to laugh at yourself. That is the only way to deal with things. Laugh at yourself first. We all do stupid things once in a while. I have done so many stupid things in my life. People have a short memory. Eventually we all move on,” points out Chunky.
The irony of the nepotism controversy that surrounds Ananya is that Chunky himself was not a star kid. But he made it to and through the film industry anyway.
The son of two renowned doctors, Sharad Panday and Snehlata Panday, Chunky was an outsider when he entered Bollywood, but he had nothing but ambition. He made his debut in the multi-starrer Aag Hi Aag (1987) that went on to become fourth highest-grossing film of the year and paved his way in the industry, landing him a string of movie offers.
“There is no denying the fact that there are people who are not as privileged as Ananya,” says Chunky. “But the point is, if those people need to achieve 10, she, because she has that head start, needs to achieve 100. When you come from a film background, your achievements in the industry need to be much higher than that of other people.”
Still, facing social media vitriol on a day-to-day basis isn’t easy. “I learnt to develop a thick skin,” says Ananya. “I learnt this from my father. He also had people calling him various things when he was acting; he did not do as well in the industry as he wanted to. I won’t say that it doesn’t affect me, but I try my best to bounce back stronger. My aim is to prove myself through my work.”
Dad’s the word
On the bright side, Ananya admits that there are a few advantages to having a dad who has been part of the industry she has chosen to make her career in.
“He has had his share of ups and downs in his career and growing up around that, seeing how he coped and handled them, never letting the smile on his face fade, has of course equipped me for this volatile industry,” she points out. “I know that here both success and failure are transient—any ball can go for a six and any ball can get you stumped. It is always about trying to play your best shot.”
“Everyone has their own unique journey in any industry. She has to learn the craft on her own,” says Chunky. “While Ananya has asked for my suggestions while selecting movies, she has always listened to her heart. In any case, my advice would be based on what I did 30 years back, which is pretty much redundant now.
This generation is different and the audience is different. I don’t think I can really guide her with her movie choices. But yes, I can teach her work ethics.”
Ananya listens carefully when her father talks about work ethics and etiquette; it is his experiences that are her foundation in this highly volatile industry.
“He has taught me how to enjoy every single day on a set and to not get too affected by either the good stuff or the bad,” she says. “Also, I am immensely inspired by how he has created so many such memorable characters. I want to leave a similar legacy. I am not sure if ‘legacy’ is the right word, but I want to leave a mark on the industry. I want people to remember me by the characters I play on-screen.”
Ananya’s journey from being a star kid to a star has just begun. But already to the whole new generation that is her audience, Chunky is known as Ananya Panday’s father. How does that feel?
“It is the best feeling ever! To see her succeed makes me much happier than when I was enjoying my success. In fact, I was working non-stop at the time and didn’t even know when I became successful,” says Chunky.
He pauses to gaze upon his daughter with pride. “No pressure on Ananya, but I hope she achieves whatever I couldn’t and I hope she never loses the child in her while doing so,” he says.
From HT Brunch, June 18, 2022
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