Ananya Panday

Ananya Panday arrived with the loudest possible entrance and has spent the years since quietly proving she is more interesting than the entrance suggested. Born in Mumbai in 1998 to the actor Chunky Panday and the costume designer Bhavana Pandey, she is exactly the sort of debut the internet decides about before it has watched anything.

She began in 2019 with Student of the Year 2 and Pati Patni Aur Woh, which between them won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. That would have been a fine place to settle into the glossy roles and stay there.

Instead the interesting work turned up on streaming. Gehraiyaan in 2022 asked something genuinely uncomfortable of her and she delivered it. Kho Gaye Hum Kahan in 2023 and the thriller CTRL in 2024 kept the run going, and Call Me Bae let her play knowingly with the exact image the industry had handed her.

The recognition followed. Forbes Asia put her on its 30 Under 30 list in 2025, and Chanel named her its first Indian global ambassador the same year, which tells you where her stock sits now.

She is one of the most photographed people in the country. Everything below is our own footage.

More on Ananya Panday: en.wikipedia.org