Nepotism in Bollywood has been a long and ongoing debate in the industry for years now. The `nepo kids` often face heated criticism and trolling, especially online. While some of them have showcased their talent and earned critical acclaim, others continue to face constant scrutiny for being a star kid. During a recent interview, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap called Ananya Panday, the daughter of Chunky Panday, one of his favourite nepo kids. He also opened about how he believes she has changed and evolved over the years.
Anurag Kashyap about Ananya Panday
In a recent interview with Juggernaut, he was asked about his favourite nepo baby. Anurag named Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Ananya Panday and Ayan Mukerji. While talking about Ananya`s career graph, he noted, “I think she has figured it out. I think long back in an interview, Siddhant Chaturvedi had said, ‘our struggles end where yours begin,’ and she took it very personally. Something altered inside her because she changed after that. Something about her changed. After that, I saw her in CNTRL, Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, and Gehraiyaan. Something flipped inside her, and she found herself — or she is on the path to finding herself. But whatever it is, she is doing great stuff. She is taking risks, and she is quite mature. She experiments. She is not playing safe, unlike others.”
He went on to add why he believes nepo kids often fail, saying, “I think the problem, more than the kids, is that the parents are not letting the kids make their own choices. For the sake of safety, the parental instincts kick in — ‘I am going to protect my child and give them a successful career because I know better’. That’s where the problem lies.”
Siddhant Chaturvedi`s comment
Back in 2019, during a roundtable with Rajeev Masand, the Kesari 2 actress spoke about how people assumed she got everything easily since her father was a star. She also admitted that she does not shy away from being recognised as Chunky Panday`s daughter, saying, “Just because I’m an actor`s daughter, I’m not going to say no to an opportunity. My dad has not been in a Dharma film; he has never gone on Koffee With Karan, so it`s not as easy as people think. I think everyone has their own struggles.”
Siddhant responded to this by instantly saying, “Everybody has their own struggles. The only difference is that where our dreams get fulfilled, their struggle begins.” The conversation quickly went viral on social media.
