Bollywood Wives' Bhavana Pandey admits being uncomfortable earlier: Didn't want my behaviour to impact Ananya's career' - Exclusive

Ananya Panday's mother Bhavana is seen in Netflix show Fabulous Lives Vs Bollywood Wives.

Bhavana Pandey has been winning hearts with her fun yet loving image in season 3 of Fabulous Lives Vs. Bollywood Wives, which released on Netflix recently.

Bhavana, who is not from a film background, moved from Delhi to Mumbai after her wedding with actor Chunky Panday in 1998.

Bhavana, who looked a bit reluctant and uncomfortable in Season 1 of the hit reality show, says she is her own self in this season and more relaxed.

In an exclusive conversation withl, Bhavana accepted being a bit uncomfortable and self-conscious in season 1 as her daughter and actor Ananya Panday was making her debut in movies around that time. The protective mother that she is, Bhavana told us that she didn't want anything to go wrong in her daughter Ananya's career at that time.

"In season 1, I was very conscious and quite uncomfortable. Ananya (Panday) was also joining movies around the same time. When I was filming season 1, it was the same year she had her first release. So there was obviously a lot of chatter and lots of comments. I had this thought that why am I doing this right now, adding to the confusion. I wanted to be extra careful of how, like, my saying something or my behaving in certain manner should not impact her of Chunky in any way. I was extremely cautious and very conscious. As the first season passed and we got a lot of love, season 2 and 3, I realized I am working with my closest friends, and if I can't be myself with them then I can never be myself. You don't want to get judged or misunderstood. All those apprehensions are there, but I think it just flowed. I have had huge personal growth," she told Money Control.

Bollywood Wives first premiered on November 27, 2020, and its second season was released two years late in September 2022.

Ananya Panday's new home 

Ananya Panday has recently moved into her own apartment that she has recently bought, and its interiors were done by interior designer Gauri Khan.

In the show too, both Chunky and Bhavana are happy that Ananya is independent and moving into her own personal space.

Bhavana Pandey, though, revealed that their daughter Ananya is only a few floors above their home and said that they still have their meals together.

"We are very happy for her that she's going to be independent, and she's going to be a little more responsible and have her own private space. So, we are very happy for her. And quite frankly, she's just going to laugh at me if I'm going to say anything else because she's just a couple of floors above us. We still have a common kitchen. We have our meals together. So you know what? She's taken responsibility in a nice way. And we are very proud of her and very happy for her," said a proud mother.

Ananya Panday subject to trolls 

Commenting on the trolling that her daughter and actor Ananya Panday is subject to online, Bhavana said: "You know, she had to go through this journey. And even when anyone has asked her, she says that she doesn't want to change a thing about her because she would not be who she is personally or professionally if she had not gone through that journey. You cannot be successful all the time or you cannot when you're even feeling lower at, you know, at, you know, maybe a lower space in your life; the only way is up, you know. The point is to work hard," she ended.

Ananya Panay has had a successful 2024 with two back-to-back hits on OTT. Her first show, 'Call Me Bae,' where she played the role Bella, was loved. It released on Amazon Prime.

Next came CTRL, where she was seen opposite Vihaan Samat, and the show reflected on the dark side of cyberspace. The movie was directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and released on Netflix.

Bhavana Pandey's reality TV show Fabulous Lives Vs. Bollywood Wives also released on Netflix recently, and this time there were three new additions. Maheep Kapoor, Seema, Neelam, and Bhavana were joined by girls from Delhi: Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, Shalini Passi, and Kalyani Saha.

It has been streaming on Netflix since October 8.