Ananya Panday wanted to ‘capitalise’ on ‘English-speaking urban girl’ roles, reveals Rajeev Masand: ‘She listens, works hard’

The former journalist stated that the best example of the same would be actor Ananya Panday. “If you ask for an example, I would like to say Ananya, she is the best example. She is lovely. She came to us four years ago, had a few releases. She is also someone who is bright and young. All the other kids got attacked in that whole nepo argument a little bit. But, clearly there was someone who was ambitious and willing to work very hard.”

ALSO READ | Shobhaa De roots for Kartik Aaryan, says Ananya Panday lacks ‘distinct personality’: ‘She is just at the right place at the right time’

He further added, “We realised that early on. She is also someone who listens. You must have your opinion, but you must be willing to listen. Whether it’s the agent, or actor, or maker who says, ‘I know everything’, that’s a death knell. Look at how rapidly the landscape is changing. She is someone who came and figured out what she wants. She said that she is good in an English-speaking urban girl role, and I will capitalise on that. Even within that, she wanted some range.”

Rajeev Masand pointed to projects like Gehraiyaan, Call Me Bae, and CTRL as examples of her range. Masand said, “You saw a film like Gehraiyaan. She stood out because you believed that she could be that character really, and yet there was a little bit of heavy-lifting, and she came into her own in Call Me Bae. That was a tricky one because that kind of a character can easily be grating and irritating. It’s about striking that balance. She did that very well.”

Talking about Vikramaditya Motwane’s CTRL, he said, “We did that together. There was a lot of conversation around it. She was unsure if she should do the heavylifting. She knew she can, but had doubts if Vikram would trust her with it. That’s a great example of when the team and artiste work together.”

On the work front, Ananya Panday was last seen in Tu Meri Main Tera, Main Tera Tu Meri, opposite Kartik Aaryan. The actor has several projects lined up including Chand Mera Dil (May 2026) alongside Lakshya, and the second season of Call Me Bae.