Ananya Panday is using the shutdown to work out with friends via video call, bake cookies with sister and reclaim old hobbies
Akash Bhatnagar (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 27, 2020)

Ananya Panday has been cooped up in her Bandra apartment since film shoots were halted last week. But unlike others practicing social distancing, she is not bored or restless. “I’m happy to be home and I hope everyone else stays in, too. That is the need of the hour and it’s the least we can do,” says the actress, who is making sure to not get too close to mom Bhavana, dad Chunky and younger sister Rysa, washing her hands regularly, not touching her face and taking care of personal hygiene.

The silver lining in the Coronavirus-induced shutdown is that the actress has got a break, which is longer than three days, for the first time since she started working. “It’s wonderful to bake cookies with my sister and play with my dog. I can connect with my core and reclaim old hobbies,” she says. What hobbies? “When I was younger, I used to read a lot, I’ve started again and I’m also catching up on all the movies I’ve missed in the recent times,” she shares.

She is also focussed on her health. “I need someone to push me to work out. My friends do that. Now, since we can’t meet, we’ve decided to work out together in the evening via video-calling,” she says excitedly.

On Monday, Ananya posted a picture with the caption, “All dressed up to go out and sit in my living room.” She breaks into peals of laughter, saying, “I was in gym or home clothes for one week, so, I felt like dressing up for a change. Since I couldn’t go anywhere, I went and sat in my living room.”

She has three films in different stages of production—Ali Abbas Zafar’s debut production Khaali Peeli with Ishaan Khatter, Fighter with Vijay Deverakonda and Shakun Batra’s next with Deepika Padukone and Siddhant Chaturvedi. They have all suffered due to the shutdown. But Ananya disagrees, “I wouldn’t say they have suffered. Everyone’s health and safety are paramount,” she says, adding that they have just one day’s work left on Khaali Peeli, which couldn’t be finished due to the halt. “But I’m glad because I don’t want that film to end and I still have one more day left on its amazing set,” she signs off.