Ananya Panday, who chose to pursue acting instead of attending prestigious universities in the United States, recently opened up about the emotional challenges she faced during her initial year in the film industry. In a candid interview on Barkha Dutt’s Mojo Story, the actress spoke about the harsh criticisms and baseless rumors spread about her on social media, as well as the impact it had on her self-confidence.
Reflecting on her school days and the advent of social media, Ananya shared, “When I was in school, social media had just started. I was called all sorts of things, like hunchback, flat screen, chicken legs… That was in school, we were in our bubble. Now, because of social media, the smallest voice can be amplified. It did affect my self-confidence, it still does today. Self-love is a journey, not the destination.”
Ananya, who is the daughter of Chunky Pandey and Bhavana Pandey, also revealed how her younger sister, Rysa, was affected by online trolling. “I’m an actress. I’m in a position of power. Sometimes I have to be on social media even if I don’t want to be on social media. Some days I definitely don’t want to be on social media. But I also saw the impact on my younger sister Rysa. She’s not an actor and has no plans of becoming one, but every time we posted a picture of her, she would say, ‘Don’t tag me, because people follow me and message me nasty things,’” she said.
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The actress recalled a particularly upsetting incident during her debut year when someone created a fake Instagram account and spread rumors about her. “When I had just started out, in my first year, someone made a fake account on Instagram and they started writing that they were in school with me and I was like this and like that, and I had lied about my education… And at first, I was like, ‘No one is going to believe that.’ But people did believe it. And then, when it spun out of control, that really upset me,” she said.
This incident became a major topic of discussion when the account accused Ananya of being a bully and questioned the authenticity of her academic achievements. Addressing the allegations in an Instagram post at the time, Ananya wrote, “As for the people who have been trying to pull me down with these accusations, I would like to send you all lots of love, peace and positivity. And would also like to say that even though they’re claiming to be my classmates (nameless and faceless) – I’m sure they aren’t because I’ve grown up with the people I went to school with and they would never do something like that.”
On the work front, Ananya is basking in the success of her film CTRL. In the coming months, she will be seen sharing screen space in a new romantic drama titled Chand Mera Dil with Lakshya.