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Ananya Panday has expressed her admiration for her Gehraiyaan co-star, Deepika Padukone, crediting her with inspiring her to stand up and reinforce her own beliefs and choices. Speaking at Prime Video’s O Womaniya 2024 Roundtable, Ananya reflected on how her perspective changed since her early days in the film industry.
“When I started out in the industry, I didn’t really know that one could really stand up and reinforce what they want. I used to simply do what I was asked to do,” Ananya admitted.
Ananya Panday reveals taking inspiration from Deepika Padukone
She elaborated on how Deepika’s behaviour on set served as an example, “Deepika is a woman who stands up for every person on the set, in a very polite way. Because whenever a girl speaks up, she is called bossy or difficult to work with. But she used to convey her needs in a very polite and empathetic way, which made me realise that there is a way in which you can do this.”
Ananya also shared how Deepika’s influence encouraged her to adopt a more conscious approach to her work. “Deepika inspired me as a younger female actress to go on further to make a change. Now, I do speak up when I am not comfortable doing certain things or saying certain things because I don’t want a young girl to be spoken to in a certain manner because I am being shown like that on-screen. So now I am way more conscious about my choices, more than I have been in the past,” she added.
Deepika and Ananya on work front
The two actresses shared screen space in Gehraiyaan, a romantic drama directed by Shakun Batra. Released in 2022, the film also featured Siddhant Chaturvedi, Dhairya Karwa, Rajat Kapoor, and Naseeruddin Shah. It premiered on Prime Video India and received mixed reviews.
Ananya’s comments highlight the impact of female camaraderie in Bollywood, with Deepika’s professionalism and empathy setting a powerful precedent for the younger generation of actors.
