WINNING HEARTS NATIONWIDE - ANANYA PANDAY

It is only two years ago that she made her debut in the Hindi film industry with Student of the Year 2, and Ananya Panday has already managed to become the film industry’s darling. Known to speak her mind, Chunky Panday and Bhavana Pandey’s daughter is a role model for today’s youth, who look up to her for her sense of style as well as for her straight-from-the-heart statements.

- DEEPALI SINGH

And when it comes to the movies, she has quite a few exciting projects in her kitty. While there is Shakun Batra’s yet-untitled film with Deepika Padukone and Siddhant Chaturvedi, she is also paired opposite South superstar Vijay Deverakonda in the pan-India movie Liger, which will release in five languages.

When we asked our cover star, who has almost 16 million followers on Instagram, if she ever gets overwhelmed with the expectations or bogged down by responsibilities, she replied candidly, “Honestly, I don’t want to take the pressure of it because then I won’t be myself.” On her part, she just wants to be as real and authentic as possible. “There is a sense of responsibility because there are a lot of young people who look up to me. It’s a good responsibility because it’s making me a better person,” she states. Over to our sassy beauty for some candid thoughts on herself and her projects…

On the one hand, there are pictures of you all dolled up on your Instagram page, but you also don’t shy away from posting pictures of yourself sans make-up, in your PJs. Who’s the real Ananya Panday?

The real Ananya is a bit of both. When I’m at home, I don’t have my makeup on or sit with my hair done. I’m always in the same pyjamas. I have one favourite pair of British Airways pajamas that I keep wearing very often. Having said that, I also enjoy dressing up and going out. So, there are two sides to my personality and I put them both out there because someone could relate to either of them.