Ananya Panday on 'Gehraiyaan': "Infidelity is one theme but it is not the only theme"

Deepika Padukone and Ananya Panday in 'Gehraiyaan'.

Ananya Panday made her Hindi film debut as one of the leads in Student of the Year 2 in 2019. Three years later, the 23-year-old is starring in her fourth film Gehraiyaan (Amazon Prime Video), a mature relationship drama that also stars Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Dhairya Karwa. Panday plays a Tia, an heiress caught out by lies, deception and infidelity.

It’s a firm step away from the romantic, commercial films Ananya Panday has done so far, namely Pati Patni Aur Woh and Kaali Peeli. She’s got more interesting work coming, including a film with Vijay Devarakonda.

In a video interview, Panday spoke about her latest release, working with director Shakun Batra and the challenges faced by young actors today.

From 'Student of the Year 2' to 'Gehraiyaan', what was it like to go from a fluffier, youthful, romcom space to this kind of narrative?

Growing up, Student of the Year and Khaali Peeli were the kind of films I loved and wanted to be a part of – and still want to be a part of. At the start of my career I was very excited about doing those films, excited to be acting and enjoying myself. When Gehraiyaan came to me, I was sure I wanted to work with Shakun. Even though he has made only two films (Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, and Kapoor and Sons) before this, he has already shown complexity and relatability through this work.

I realised the responsibility I had to take on with Gehraiyaan because I was 21 when we started shooting the film, and the characters are going through things in life that I have not gone through. It was most important for me to do justice to the character that’s been written and to the story. I was definitely nervous and unsure as to how I was going to do it. But Shakun helped me begin to develop my process as an actor.

What did this process entail?

There was so much emphasis on preparation for this film. Months before we started shooting, we were doing table reads together. We went to Goa 10 days before shooting where we had a jam-packed schedule which began with yoga in the morning, followed by acting classes, table reads, and intimacy workshops. Gehraiyaan is an observation on complex modern relationships, and not just the one relationship you see in the trailer. Infidelity is one theme but it is not the only theme. There is a lot, so these workshops helped so much, simply in building trust and chemistry with co-actors and also being so ready with dialogues so that the lines don’t come out rehearsed.

Also read: 'Gehraiyaan' intimacy director Dar Gai: "It’s a dance of feelings and technique"

There has been a lot of talk around intimacy in the film.

Yes. When we speak about intimacy, people are misunderstanding it for just the physical intimacy that we saw in the trailer and the songs, but it is intimacy between the four of us in general, the comfort level between characters that have known each other all their lives. So we needed to have that comfort and sense of belonging with each other, which the workshops helped us achieve.

Did it come easy to you to play a SoBo (South Bombay) kid of privilege?

Tia's life is very, very different from mine. But there are a lot of similarities in our characters. For instance, I am also somewhat innocent and naïve and have a sense of insecurity as well. I do like to see the best in people, but I have trust issues. Tia’s loving as well as dependent in a relationship. So, more than her privilege or lifestyle, I related more to her as a person. I could borrow a lot from my personality traits.

Also read: Gehraaiyan review: A beautifully calibrated relationship drama

Where do you go from here?

At first I was acting because I wanted to see myself on the big screen. I had so much fun acting and doing all the singing and dancing. But now I want to discover the craft. I want to go through those processes and to portray more honesty in the characters I play. My hope is to keep getting better and not put myself in a box. I like watching all kinds of cinema, so as an actor I want to experiment with all genres.

In terms of projects, I am doing a film produced by Zoya Akhtar called Kho Gaye Hum Kahan. It’s a coming-of-digital-age story directed by Arjun Singh co-starring Siddhant and Adarsh Gourav. I also have Liger with Vijay Devarakonda. It’s a pan-India film directed by Puri Jagganadh and a total popcorn masala film. There’s one more thing to be announced soon.

What do you think are some of the challenges facing young actors like yourself today?

I hope people don't get bored because they see so much of us - on social media and around town on hoardings, etc. I hope that when they watch us on screen, we are not stale for them and that they can invest in the character we play. I am not sure what the way around this is. Maybe we need to set boundaries. Personally I don’t put out everything about my life. There are parts of my life and myself that I like to keep private.

Do you think there are things that the audience and fans misunderstand about your career and generation?

I am speaking generally, but I think sometimes people forget the human side of actors. The life of some young actors is so out there that people expect us to be perfect, correct and on point all the time. And I don't want to be that way. That's kind of boring. I want to make mistakes and learn from them. I would be making the same mistakes even if I were not an actor because I am also growing up and trying to find myself.

Does your younger sister get bored now that there are three performers (father Chunky, mother Bhavana and Ananya) at home?

No. She wants to become a filmmaker so she's getting into this industry too, but behind the camera.