Within the last year, Ananya Panday has emerged as both a Gen-Z star and a conscientious actor lending her face to projects that speak of relevant, new-age issues like the perils of social media and the emerging threat of data leak. In Arjun Varain Singh's "coming-of-digital-age” Netflix film Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, she played a young girl as addicted to her ex-boyfriend as she's to Instagram. In the more recent Prime Video show Call Me Bae, she plays a social media influencer-turned-journalist fighting against a data leak racket. And in her new Netflix film CTRL, she plays a content creator who uses Artificial Intelligence to delete her ex from her memories, till the AI takes over.

Ananya on her trilogy

“Yeah, they're all very different kinds of films, but you're right in the way that they do talk about, in different ways, how social media has impacted everyone,” Ananya says in an exclusive interview. While Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is a buddy movie, Call Me Bae a “riches-to-rags” story, and CTRL a screenlife thriller, all of them have another common factor – the “Ex” factor. Ananya's character in all three stories is fresh off a break-up, uses social media to distance herself from the alienation, only to be overcome by her weapon of choice itself. Like heartbreak, social media's existence as an aberration also echoes with every young girl in Ananya's age group.

“For me, I just find it very relatable. And I know that people around me also find it very relatable. When it comes to topics like these, I've always looked to the West or Hollywood films that are discussing issues like these. But I'm so happy that now, scripts like these are being made because these are current issues, it's what's happening. Years later, people would look at these and say, ‘Okay, that’s how our generation was' because God knows what will develop after this. When I'm reading or hearing the script, more than being a part of it, I feel as an audience, ‘This is something that’s happening around me.' Maybe that's why I'm gravitating towards it," Ananya adds.

On tasting the blood

The actor has also found her groove with trilogy of sorts, having tasted blood, rising above the standard “3 scenes and 3 songs” mould that young female actors are subjected to in Indian cinema. It's a reverse trajectory to her contemporary Janhvi Kapoor, who had a string of intense films that she carried solely on her shoulders, before finally letting her hair down as the leading lady of Jr NTR-starrer Devara: Part 1 that released last week. “People believe that doing commercial cinema is very easy, but it's also an art to perform a certain way. Like Janhvi was amazing in her recent song. Her expressions were great, her energy was outstanding. It's equally hard in a certain way,” Ananya weighs in.

Having been there and done commercial cinema like her debut Student of the Year 2, Khaali Peeli, Pati Patni Aur Woh, and Liger, Ananya hasn't sworn off these completely. “As an actor, you need to be able to do a little bit of everything. Right now, I've done so much of this urban, social media zone. Now, I also want to step out and reinvent myself. What have I not tried doing? An action film or an out-and-out horror film. And then maybe, I'll feel like going back to singing and dancing because I've done too much intense stuff. I think it's just your mind space at a certain point of time, and wanting to grow and evolve as an actor,” she explains.

On working with Vikramaditya Motwane

Something shifted within Ananya during Shakun Batra's Gehraiyaan (2022), which was also the film director Vikramaditya Motwane watched before casting her in CTRL. Ananya wanted to work with him even before she became an actor in 2019, thanks to her mother and The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives star Bhavna Pandey's obsession with Vikramaditya's 2010 debut film Udaan. “Today morning, she was saying that every time she watches the film, she'll cry without fail, even though she knows what's gonna happen, she'll always cry,” Ananya says. “That's why when he offered me the film, I was over the moon and so excited to be able to work with him. I'm so happy that one of his films is part of my filmography also,” she adds.

Vikramaditya may credit Ananya for making CTRL relevant to the younger audience, but the actor reveals that he's as in tune with the digital zeitgeist as she is. “He takes really great photos. I wish he could take all my Instagram photos. He knows the aesthetic and the lighting better than any of us. And ya, he's saying that he left it to the younger generation, but he's very with it,” Ananya points out. She reveals it was Vikramaditya's brainchild to get internet sensations Tanmay Bhat, Rohan Joshi, and Yashraj Mukhate on board for a key sequence in the film. “He knows what's up with the meme culture, which is great,” Ananya adds.

On having AI as her co-star

Given the screenlife format of the film (in which every frame is a screen), one would imagine Ananya had a challenging time acting mostly by herself – staring at screens, giving reaction shots, and not having any co-star's energy to bounce off. But she reveals she ironically had an able screen partner to help her with the cues – the AI. “Even when I was talking to Allen (the AI character in CTRL), he was being generated in real time through AI. At every point on the Zoom call, there was an AI I was talking to. All my laughs and reactions are all genuine, like I'm actually acting in front of someone,” Ananya says. She even shot the FaceTime scenes with co-star Vihaan Samat in real time. “Vihaan would be sitting in another apartment and actually calling me. Our biggest concern was just internet and time lag, that's it,” adds Ananya.

Ananya also admitted that it was fun for her to often double up as the cameraperson. “I'm of a generation that's quite used to taking selfies and recording myself. So that part was actually quite fun to do. It felt like a very different experience because filmmaking is generally very straightforward. We got to try something different. I hope they release some sort of making or BTS because I feel people will really enjoy the experience of making this film. It's a masterclass for some people in filmmaking,” she says. Ananya even experimented with creating an AI avatar on set, but snapped out of it soon as she got scared of the monster that technology can be, as shown in the film.

Advice to Gen-Z on navigating social media

Ananya admits while she still can't help but still be glued to Instagram, she has definitely come out wiser after doing CTRL. “Everything I say, I don't really follow myself. So I don't think I should be giving any sort of advice. But I'd say, be aware. Now, I'm more aware of what I'm signing up for, like giving permission or accepting cookies. It's not like I'm not doing it anymore, but I'm aware of it. So awareness is the key. You should know what you're getting yourself into." Ananya slides in a couple of hacks before signing off. “Have double password protection for everything. Don't open any links from random people. Just don't open links, I'd say, except for our trailer link.” Only from the right sources though? “Yes, yes, yes,” she adds swiftly.

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