Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; October 6, 2019)

Ananya Panday is prepping and simultaneously shooting for her next, Khaali Peeli, that has her opposite Ishaan Khatter. The story is about a boy and girl who meet in a kaali peeli taxi and end up on a roller-coaster ride together. Ananya plays a girl who comes from a lesser-privileged background and speaks the  Mumbaiyya tapori language.

So, the first thing the Student Of The Year 2 actress had to do as part of her prep was get her lingo right. “Director Maqbool Khan really helped me with my diction because the way my character, Pooja, speaks is completely different from how I do in real life. It’s not in my comfort zone at all. More than learning the lines, we had conversations. We didn’t stick to the dialogue, as Maqbool sir is comfortable speaking that lingo. He taught me a lot of funny words and quotes that I can use,” says Ananya.

About working with Ali Abbas Zafar, who is producing the film, Ananya shares that he is an extremely hands-on producer. “He is sweet and has been so nice and patient with us — he sat with us through the readings. He just has a knack of making things grand. When I was offered the film, it was the weekend SOTY 2 had released. I was overwhelmed and happy that they watched my performance and decided to cast me because the character is different from what I am in person. In SOTY 2, I played a character which was my age, a lot like how I am as a person. So, the fact that they believe I could pull this off is exciting. I hope that I don’t let anyone down and I can do it well,” Ananya avers.