Long Format

I’ve interviewed a few actors over the years, but this conversation stayed with me. Ananya Panday entered the spotlight at just 18, and she’s grown up under relentless public scrutiny. In this episode, I sat down with her to talk about what that really does to a person, beyond films, headlines and social media noise. We spoke about being judged not just for your work, but for who you are. About being boxed, meme-d, trolled and misunderstood in real time. About learning to draw boundaries with the paparazzi, navigating body image and self-doubt and understanding the difference between criticism of craft and criticism of self. What struck me most was her honesty about finding balance. Ananya shared how spirituality grounds her, how meditating for 30 minutes every day has given her an internal calm in an industry that never slows down. We also discussed Gen Z, the pressure to constantly have an opinion and why it’s okay to evolve... publicly and privately. This conversation isn’t about fame. It’s about growing up. Watch Ananya Panday, unfiltered, on The Other Side — only on Brut.