Ananya Panday never visited dad Chunky Panday’s set, had no idea how films were shot: ‘Tiger Shroff would move me between shots’  

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Recalling how she never visited her dad Chunky’s film sets, hence struggling during her debut film Students Of The Year 2, she shared, “When we were shooting Student Of The Year, even though my dad is an actor, he didn’t take us on sets much growing up. I hardly went on maybe two film sets of his when I was really little. I didn’t know how cameras work, what wide or close shots are, and how many times you do a take. I thought you just do it once, one camera or the other will capture you and done.”

The Kho Gaye Hum Kahan actor further added, “But no, there are angles, lighting and you have to be aware of all these things. I really feel like SOTY was my technical learning in a sense. Tiger (co-star Tiger Shroff) used to literally move me between shots to tell me how to catch the light and how to hit my mark. I didn’t have a process and I was just enjoying every bit of it.”

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Ananya also explained how she used to be dependent on her directors. “I worked a lot with my directors. I am still a very director’s actor, but when I started out, I was extremely dependent on my directors. In my first three or four films, up until Gehraiyaan, whatever my directors said, there would be no questions asked. I would just do it because I didn’t feel that I could contribute anything. I didn’t know that you could have a voice or say, I was very scared to raise my voice and give my opinion on something.”

However, things changed for her while shooting Gehraiyaan with director Shakun Batra. “Shakun on Gehraiyaan really taught me how to do that. He was like, ‘Not everyone is going to hold your hand or spoon feed you because they have so much to look out for. You have to figure it out yourself’. He made me a way more independent and process oriented actor. So, I am a mix of both now. I listen to my directors, but I also voice my opinions now and try to bring something of myself,” she said.

Ananya Panday was last seen in her OTT project CTRL. Her next project is the romantic drama Chand Mera Dil, which is scheduled for release in 2025.