Deepika and Ananya’s still from Gehraiyaan (Courtesy: deepikapadukone)
Highlights
- Deepika and Ananya will be seen together in Gehraiyaan
- This is the first time that they are working together
- “Ananya is younger than my younger sister and I love her,” said Deepika
New Delhi:
Actresses Deepika Padukone and Ananya Panday formed a mutual admiration society while working together on new film Gehraiyaan. Speaking to NDTV, the co-stars had wonderful things to say about each other both professionally and personally – the 13-year age gap between them certainly seems to have made for an affectionate inter-personal dynamic. Deepika, 36, said about Ananya, 23, “Ananya is younger than my younger sister and I love her.” Turns out, Deepika also calls Ananya and her own sister Anisha Padukone by the same pet name – Annie. The actresses had no equation at all before Gehraiyaan – Deepika knew the spunky Ananya of Instagram and she was also impressed by the real Ananya when they met offline.
Speaking to NDTV, Deepika Padukone said about Ananya Panday, “I didn’t know her at all before we started working on this film. I knew as much as anyone else does, via social media. I don’t mean this in a way of making a joke but I mean it when I say that she is extremely intelligent for her age. She is sharp! Either she has not shown that side of her to the world or people just don’t give her enough credit for that. She is also very observant, she is constantly observing what other actors are doing. She constantly wants to get better at her work.”
The praise was returned by Ananya Panday, who said about Deepika Padukone, “She calls me also Annie and she calls her sister also Annie. She always says I am like her lovely younger sister that’s why she always used to kiss me and hug me. the first thing you notice about Deepika is that she is warm and affectionate and she shows that she is affectionate.”
There was much for Ananya to learn from her more experienced co-star. “As an actor, there was a lot for me to play of her, like just reacting to her in scenes. I have loved all her performances but this will be my favourite because you will see Deepika very raw, real, vulnerable so I am very excited for people to see her as Alisha in Gehraiyaan,” she told NDTV.
Gehraiyaan, directed by Shakun Batra, explores the themes of infidelity and the complexity of relationships. Deepika Padukone plays Alisha, who falls for Siddhant Chaturvedi’s Zain, fiancé of Ananya Panday’s character Tia. Dhairya Karwa is cast as Alisha’s partner Karan. It drops on Amazon Prime Video on February 11.
