Ananya Panday denies that Karan Johar ‘shields her’ against criticism: ‘He wants us to be in real world’

Ananya Panday is impressing everyone with her recent performances in Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, CTRL, and Call Me Bae. The actor, who made her debut with the Karan Johar production Student of the Year 2, was criticised for both her performance and for the perceived ease with which she bagged her debut role. Recently, speculations about Karan shielding her from negativity also did the rounds. However, she revealed in an interview that he would rather have her face the music than protect her from it.

Ananya has known Karan all her life, and he is also friends with her mother, Bhavana Panday. Denying allegations of him shielding his proteges from harsh criticism, Ananya cleared the air on Raj Shamani’s podcast recently. She said, “He (Karan Johar) is very perceptive and very open, and he doesn’t want to shield himself, so I didn’t think he wants it for any of us, you know. He wants us to be in the real world and get as much exposure as possible.”

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When asked if Karan made a protective bubble around her, the actor answered, “Not at all. He is the first one to pop the bubble.” She further added that he is actually the first person who calls her if he doesn’t like her performance or remarks made by her in interviews. She said, “Rather than feeding us, ki yeh karna hai woh karna hai (telling us to do this or that), he’s just there as a strong pillar of support.”

Ananya Panday was last seen in Vikramaditya Motwane’s CTRL, alongside Vihaan Samat. She will next be seen in an untitled film based on the life of C Sankaran Nair, also starring Akshay Kumar and R Madhavan. She will also be seen in Chand Mera Dil, with Lakshya. Karan Johar is bankrolling both of her upcoming films.