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Ananya Panday says her current state of mind matches with that of her character Bella aka Bae. Both are excited to meet the audience! Ahead of the premiere of her debut digital project, Call Me Bae, the 25-year-old added that “Ananya is however, more nervous.”
About Call Me Bae
Call Me Bae follows Ananya’s title character who is born with a “golden spoon”. But her rich life turns upside down when certain incidents force her to leave the comfort of her protected world. As she navigates her days as a commoner, she gets a reality check of life and the value system.
ALSO READ: Call Me Bae Director Collin D’Cunha Says Ananya Panday’s Show Champions Women – EXCLUSIVE
Ananya Panday gets candid about Call Me Bae
We sat down for a candid chat with Ananya about jumping on the bandwagon of OTT, turning to comedy, parallels with her onscreen character and the real-life inspirations in the web show. Here's what she told Zoom in an exclusive chat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMaB-STKV9Q
On playing Bella 'Bae' Chowdhury
There are more differences. It's very easy to judge a character like her and think that she's silly or ridiculous. But I didn't judge her at all. I saw her human side because I wanted to develop a very strong backstory for why she is, the way she is. That helped me ground her in a lot of scenes and bring out her likeable quality. At the end of it, I still feel very protective about her, as if she's my little sister or something.
On Bella leaving an impact on Ananya
Bella gave me a lot of confidence because I was very caught up before I did the show. I would overthink a lot. I definitely feel a shift after playing her, because I don't feel as self conscious as I used to.
Also because I did comedy for the first time. It was good learning for me to not take myself too seriously or be bothered by what people will think of a certain expression. I thought of just going with it and seeing what the outcome would be. I think that process made me more confident as an actor.
On Bella saving Ananya from feeling low in life
Playing her just saved me because whatever I was going through in my personal life, I had to be in a happy mood whenever I came on set. She just raised my spirits.
On similarities Ananya shares with her character
I know people would say I'm a lot like Bella, or think I'm playing myself on screen. But I'm hoping that once they watch it, they see it's entirely performative, it's an act, something that I've worked towards doing. So I'm hoping they see Bella as a character.
On things Ananya improvised in Bella
I think a lot of her gestures and mannerisms. A lot of it was written in the script, but I think the way she talks, her expressions and stuff are something that I've tried to create.
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On reaction from family and industry friends
I think my favorite compliment has been people saying, "Oh, we didn't expect this." It's nice to constantly surprise people, because I think they thought the show was a certain way and it was only about fashion. But then when they saw it, they were like, "okay, this has a story and it's funny also."
My mom has already seen the show, and I know she's been going to be watching 100 times. I'm actually hoping that people like the show enough for us to do another season, because I can't wait to get back to her.
More about Call Me Bae
The Colin D'Cunha directed 8-episode series also stars Gurfateh Pirzada, Varun Sood, Vir Das, Mini Mathur, Vihaan Samat and others. Produced by Karan Johar's Dharmatic Entertainment, the show releases on September 6 on Prime Video.