'Women Like Me..': When Ananya Panday Revealed Her Desire For Relatable Roles

Ananya Panday, known for her roles in Student of the Year 2, Pati Patni Aur Woh, and Gehraiyaan, has consistently taken on characters that challenge stereotypes. Her latest portrayal as Bella Chowdhury in Call Me Bae has netizens buzzing, with many praising her for mastering the art of choosing relevant characters. Fans noted how Ananya continues to choose roles that resonate with her off-screen persona—young, fashionable, and effortlessly navigating life’s challenges with a hint of glamour.

Not just fans, Panday too expressed her excitement, saying, "It's the kind of show that I love to watch. It's very light, young adult, happy, and fun." Clearly, she’s stuck to what she does best: bringing relatable and captivating characters to life.

When Ananya Panday Revealed Her Desire for Relatable Roles

But where did it all begin? In an interview with SheThePeople, Ananya Panday, at a very early stage of her career, once shared how she selects her roles, with the key factor being relatability. She explained, "Growing up, I was always searching for female characters I could connect with, but there were only a few. Now that the audience has evolved, they’re eager to see real people and characters they can relate to on screen."

She highlighted how the shift in storytelling parallels changed within the industry with OTT, there's a stronger sense of confidence in bringing these stories to life. "Directors and writers, they too have always wanted to tell these stories for a long time, and I think they were worried about box office pressure or fear of possibility that some actors may not want to do that."

Ananya in the same interview also admitted that she wants to see women like herself on screen. Here’s what she said,  "I think usually I feel women are stereotyped in films. Either they are the bitch, the badass or bechari. Within those they will find some complexity but it is usually one of the three or a combination of those. But now it is reassuring to see it going away and I am seeing women like myself on screen. I want to see those. I just don't want to represent women in these stereotypical roles but represent the different kinds of women of India. I don't want to represent what men think women are."

Moreover, if you have not yet watched the show, it is a light-hearted version of "riches to rags" storyline where Bae, who comes from a wealthy background ends up in Mumbai, forced to make her own way and carve out her identity.  The character could have easily been stereotypical, but the makers opted for a breezy, no-brainer, fun approach, for which credit goes to the crew, the writing, and the dialogues. The show is written by Ishita Moitra, directed by Collin D’Cunha and produced by Karan Johar.