Ananya Panday is less than 10 films old, but she isn’t new to the film world. She has known the lights, the cameras and the significance of calling out ‘action’ right from her childhood. What she is new to, however, are trolls and cyberbullying, something that her father, Chunky Panday, didn’t have to put through. There was no social media back then, there were no ‘anonymous’ people hiding behind screens, and pulling a person down, for just about anything under the sun!
Despite being at the receiving end of critics and trolls alike, Ananya has managed to stay strong and keep her head high. “I am just doing my job,” like she famously said, in an episode of Koffee with Karan while talking about unnecessary flak she faces about her acting as well as appearance. Things are not always easy; the constant scrutiny, the flak, the backlash, the shaming — everything takes a toll, as it did for Ananya. That’s when she thought of starting the digital social responsibility initiative So Positive. So, it did stem from personal experiences, we ask, as we sit down for an exclusive chat with the young actress who is as much loved as she is trolled. “Initially, it did,” she replies, and quickly adds, “I was like, ‘Okay, how can I help myself?’ But then, I soon realised that it (social media abuse and trolling) is much larger than just my self. I understood that this is not happening to only me, but to everyone around me, and I am not even talking about people in the limelight; but everybody, every other person. So, I wanted to be the voice of people who didn’t have a voice.”
Before delving further into a discussion on cyberbullying and the need to address it, we engaged in a conversation around films with Ananya, who, we must tell you, looked gorgeous in a yellow sari as she attended the Humanitarian Awards in Chennai, curated by Apsara Reddy. It is here that we mention that it is rather interesting to note — while she is still in the early stages of her career, she has picked diverse roles and hasn’t shied away from films that star multiple actors and some famous names. “It’s not a conscious decision,” Ananya says, and explains, “I am a very instinctual person; everything comes from my gut and anytime a script is offered to me, I don’t really look at how big or small my part is; I think of the story as a whole. I started my career with Student of the Year 2, and I have always remained a student. I want to remain a student. So for me, it is very important to learn as much as I can, from the people around me, from the films I do, the people I work with. I am just constantly learning.”
Would it be too early to ask then, how satiated she is as an actor? We ask anyway, and she sportingly replies, “I think I am getting more satiated but also hungrier with every film. I feel like I fill up one hole, then another door opens, and I am like, ‘Wait, I have to do so much more out there’, so it’s a constant; I never want to be full!”
As the conversation veers to the importance and role of social media in our lives today, Ananya says the fact that cyberbullying is so “relevant” a subject to have discussions around, was reason enough to start So Positive. “It is so relevant! But no one was really talking about it. And I feel like so many things change with just the start of a conversation,” she says, and continues, “We stigmatise so many things. I didn’t claim to know everything, I wanted to learn with people. It (the initiative) was about triggering a conversation and having people talk about something that’s been existing in our society but no one was really addressing it.”
The actor says the initiative was started to discuss and counter online harassment and bullying, “but I think it’s become much bigger; it’s become about an overall sense of kindness and supporting; about creating a supportive, positive environment online — that’s the overarching idea.”
Email: rupam@newindianexpress.com
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