Ananya Panday is set to make her web series debut with Call Me Bae, a project that she sees as an opportunity to challenge the public’s perception of her. Known for her roles in light-hearted films like Student of the Year 2, the actor is determined to break out of the box that the industry and audience have placed her in. Ananya believes that her latest venture will allow her to showcase a different side of her acting abilities.
In Call Me Bae, Ananya plays Bae, a privileged young woman from New Delhi who is disowned by her family. Directed by Collin D’Cunha and created by Ishita Moitra, the eight-episode series will be available on Prime Video starting September 6. Ananya sees this role as a “dream role” that offers her a chance to explore a character with depth and complexity.
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Panday spoke candidly about the challenges of dealing with the industry’s and audience’s perceptions. “When you start with a certain kind of film, people put you in a box and expect the same thing from you,” she said. “So, I’m fighting the perception of what the audience thinks of me and the kind of work you get within the industry. When something of yours does well, you get the same offers, and it is up to us as actors if we have that position where we can say no.”
She emphasized the importance of making thoughtful choices in her career. “Sometimes saying no is more important than yes because that defines you as an actor and a person. You can be scared that, ‘Oh, this is such a big opportunity, what if I say no to this.’ But then, in the long term, it does well because you are not feeding into a stereotype.”
Panday described her character, Bae, as someone who goes on a “riches to rags” journey. When she first read the script, she was immediately drawn to the role. “They sent me eight episodes in a go, and when I read it, I felt, ‘I could die to be part of this.’ As a character, there’s so much to do, so much to chew on. There are so many layers to the character.”
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The show promises to take the audience on a journey with Bae, one that is light, fun, and happy but also carries a significant message by the end. “There’s a full journey, and the audience goes through everything with her. That was very exciting,” Ananya said.
Transitioning from films to a web series was a new experience for Ananya. She shared that it took some time to adjust to the tone of Call Me Bae, especially after working on more serious projects like Vikramaditya Motwane’s CTRL and Kho Gaye Hum Kahan. “It was like a breath of fresh air, we all enjoyed coming on sets, having fun, and playing with each other,” she said.
Ananya admitted that she had to shift her acting style for the new project. “On the first day, I was being very subtle, I was doing internal acting, and Colin was like, ‘This will not work here, you need to put the energy up.’ It took us a few days to find our rhythm, and then we all found the tone together.”
Call Me Bae marks Panday’s first venture into the OTT space, a format that she finds exciting. “This zone (OTT) excites me because everything we see is a little dark and heavy, and I miss eating and binge-watching something with my friends. I would like to bring light to people in these dark times (through the show),” she said.
Ananya appreciated the opportunity to delve deeper into her character in the series format. “Even though when you do a film, you still have the same amount of work and backstories, you don’t have that much screen time to show all of the facets. Some of the stuff gets lost in subtlety and context. But with the show, there was so much that I could do.”
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Despite the audience’s perception, Panday feels that she has more differences than similarities with her character Bae. “People have that perception, but the more you get to know me, people realize that I’m not like that… The character that’s closest to me is Aahana from Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, I could feel she is very similar to how I am. But with Bae, I’ve not lived the way she has,” she explained.
Call Me Bae also features a stellar cast, including Vir Das, Gurfateh Pirzada, Varun Sood, and Mini Mathur. The series is executive produced by Dharmatic Entertainment’s Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, and Somen Mishra.
