'It Bothers Me When The Industry Pits Women Against Each Other': Ananya Panday

The much-anticipated series Call Me Bae is set to premiere on Prime Video, featuring Ananya Panday in the lead role. The show dives into the glamorous yet complex world, where Ananya’s character, Bae, navigates her way through life, relationships, and her identity.

In an interview with The Quint, Ananya Panday, along with her co-stars Niharika Dutt and Muskkaan Jaferi, shared their experiences working on the show, the need for validation, gender disparity, and more.

Ananya spoke about how the Bollywood film industry unfairly pits women against each other, she said:

I don't like the way the society pits women against each other. Especially in this industry where we are always comparing actresses, saying that 'girls can't be freinds.' With this porject, we have all gotten really really close to one another. Every film that I have done with the girls - whether it's Tara (Sutaria), Bhoomi (Pednekar) and Deepika (Padukone) - I have worked with really powerful women. They are always the first ones to help me fix my crown.

"Even when it came to the trailer of 'Call Me Bae,' Janhvi Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan, Khushi Kapoor, and Suhana Khan were among the first to message me. They didn't just message me privately; they cheered me on loudly, which is important. I think that's something we emphasize in the show as well: friendship and the 'behen-code' are very important," she added.

Ananya also went on to talk about how there are more opportunities from women in the industry, "Earlier women were fighting for only that much space. But there are so many more opportunities now, there is more space. So many more women are also involved behind the camera too so it does not feel like women are fighting for that one spot."

On the other end, Ananya got cadid about her need for validation in her life stating that her need for validation now comes from the kind of work she does. Also adding, "Earlier at a point in my life, when I had started out the way I had looked might have given me validation."

Watch the video for more.

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