Ananya Panday Reflects on Her Involvement in Liger Script; Promotes Upcoming Show Call Me Bae

Ananya Panday has opened up about her role in shaping the script of Liger, the 2022 film that marked her first bilingual project and co-starred Vijay Deverakonda. While the film, directed by Puri Jagannadh, did not perform well at the box office, Ananya's experience on set was significant, particularly in how she asserted her opinions during the filmmaking process.

In a recent interview with Sucharita Tyagi, Ananya shared her approach as a young actor in the industry, emphasizing her commitment to voicing her concerns when necessary. She recounted her experience working on Liger, where she felt compelled to speak out about certain aspects of the script that made her uncomfortable.

"The way we are exposed to things now, where you feel like it's on your phone but it's also so much more… I don't know how to label it. It's bad out there," Ananya said, reflecting on the challenges of being a Gen-Z actor. "Being a young, Gen-Z person, the only thing I can do is use my voice for what is important. I feel like everyone needs to stand for something; you don't need to stand for everything, but you can stand for something. That's what I try to do. Personally, for me, women's safety and the state of that in our country is very important to speak about, and I do voice my opinion a lot."

Ananya further explained that during the script readings for Liger, she was mindful of how her character's lines would be perceived. "Whenever I am reading a script, I have this red flag thing going on in my mind like, ‘No Gen-Z person speaks like this.’ This is not okay. It is my duty and responsibility as a woman to be that face and say this is not correct. If I say that, people are going to think that it is okay," she said. "For example, in Liger, there were a lot of things where I was like, ‘Listen, I am not okay saying this. As a woman, this is not correct.’ They actually did make those changes, and I am really happy that I voiced my opinion at that time."

As she continues to make her mark in the industry, Ananya is now promoting her upcoming series Call Me Bae. The show, set to premiere on Prime Video on September 6, 2024, features a star-studded cast including Vir Das, Gurfateh Pirzada, Varun Sood, Vihaan Samat, Muskkaan Jaferi, Niharika Lyra Dutt, Lisa Mishra, and Mini Mathur. The series is executive produced by Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, and Somen Mishra.