Having recently wrapped up the first schedule of Fighter, Ananya discusses what prompted her to foray into the South film industry early in her career
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; April 5, 2020)

Only two films old, Ananya Panday has an enviable line-up of projects that includes Shakun Batra's yet-untitled next and Puri Jagannadh's Fighter. While the shoot of the Deepika Padukone and Siddhant Chaturvedi-fronted relationship drama has been pushed due to the industry shutdown, the unit of Fighter was slightly more fortunate—the team of the Vijay Deverakonda-starrer had wrapped up the first schedule in early March.

Mention the multi-lingual (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada), and the youngster says the film is a novel experience for her co-star as well as her. "We both are entering different territories; I am new to South cinema, and Vijay is foraying into Hindi cinema. So, we both are nervous and can relate to the other's state of mind," she shares.

Foraying into the South industry at a time when she has yet to gain a foothold in Bollywood can be viewed as a risky move. But the youngster believes it is never too early to widen one's horizon. "I have a strong character arc in the film, and my part is pivotal [to the story]. So, it has been a liberating experience to be part of such a film. Also, at the end of the day, I think content is all that matters. We shouldn't divide the industries on the basis of language. Parasite [Korean film, 2019] winning [the top honours] at the Oscars has shown that language isn't a barrier anymore," she says wisely.

Willing to take on new experiences, Panday reveals she is picking up Telugu for the actioner. "Actually, the film will be released in five languages. So when we go into dubbing, I will try and dub in as many languages as I can." Of course, a chat about Fighter is incomplete without mentioning Deverakonda, who is considered a heartthrob in Telugu cinema. "I have yet to meet someone who is so grounded and humble despite being such a huge star. He is kind and soft spoken."