Ananya Panday, who is basking in the success of her latest release, Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (2023), feels “happy, grateful and validated” by the praise she’s been receiving from the audience. At the same time, the actor, who’s played a soft, innocent girl in many of her past projects, is ready to explore more. “I want to do big, commercial, massy cinema because I love watching that as an audience,” she says, adding, “I want to do characters that are grey. I want to take on roles that reflect how people are in real life.”

Talking about the love she has received for playing Ahana Singh in Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, the 25-year-old says, “I’m happy that people noticed the small things I did in the film. And that they found comfort in my character.”

As her film focussed on relationship dynamics in the age of social media, we ask the actor how she feels about the discussion of her personal and professional life on these platforms. “I don’t know a world without social media,” she answers, adding, “Now as I’m growing older, I prefer having more privacy.”