Bollywood actress Ananya Panday might have a lot to prove to her adversaries and the upcoming film Gehraiyaan might just be what she needed. Her character Tia from Shakun Batra’s Gehraiyaan has moulded her into a stronger and non-Judgemental person she says. Speaking of her experience, the Khaali Peeli actress said, “We have attempted to do something different, and all of us are looking forward to finding out what the audience thinks of the film, the characters, the story and the way it all plays out. Whatever I say will not do justice to how much this film has changed me. I think we were among the lucky few to start filming in the middle of the pandemic. 

Ananya adds, “It was hard. It was a fresh set of challenges that stood before us — there is heavy intimacy and warmth in the film, and everyone around us was in masks and PPE kits. From the time we started doing workshops and intimacy training sessions, we became like one family. I learned so much from my co-stars, from Shakun Batra (director) and everyone involved in the making. With this movie, I have fallen in love with the process of acting, and I have discovered the tipping point or the beginning of my process as an actor going forward. I don’t ever want to say that I have completely cracked it, but this is how I want to do things. I am all of 23 right now. I shot this when I was about 21. I have seen myself growing up; it’s been captured in the film. It has made me non-judgemental as a person.”

Speaking of her parents seeing her intimate scenes in the film, Ananya said, “I am actually excited. My mom reads all the scripts that come my way, but dad doesn’t. Especially when I decide to do something, he doesn’t want to be told much about it. He wants to see it as a fresh piece. My parents are my biggest cheerleaders and also my critics. I am looking forward to what they think. I am also hoping that my sister Rysa likes this film. She is very hard to please, and wants to be a filmmaker herself. She loved the trailer.”

Gehraiyaan will release on 11th February 2022 and also stars Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Dhairya Karwa in the lead.