Ananya Panday enters the world of Dream Girl with the second film in the franchise, a follow-up to the 2019 blockbuster comedy, headlined by Ayushmann Khurrana, that scored Rs 100-crore plus at the box office. t2 chatted with the young actor on being Pari in Dream Girl 2, her biggest learnings from working with Ayushmann, attempting comedy and being positive in the face of negativity. Dream Girl 2, with t2 as a media partner, is in theatres on August 25.
With only a few days to go for the release of Dream Girl 2, what’s the buzz like?
People are pretty intrigued about what this movie is going to be like, especially in the light of the first film which was so different and so funny. The trailer just has a jhalak of what is going to happen in the film. Dream Girl 2 has such an interesting cast, we have so many comic legends in the film. This is the kind of film where the audience is just going to walk in to be entertained. This is a content-driven film which strikes the balance between being meaningful and fun. I am sure people will laugh and have a good time.
This is your first film set in the Indian heartland. What was the experience like?
It definitely takes me in another direction and adds a new genre to my filmography. It targets a different kind of audience that I probably was not reaching out to so far. Yes, it is a full heartland film. In fact, Ayushmann (Khurrana, co-star) has aptly described Dream Girl 2 as a ‘junta’ film and I hope this film helps me reach more people in the audience than my previous films have done.
What was most important for me was to get the pulse of my character Pari right. She is a girl from Mathura and I was very particular about focusing on the dialect and the way she looked and keeping that as authentic as possible. Even though Dream Girl 2 is a commercial film, I didn’t want to be dishonest to the girl I was playing. I wanted her to be extremely relatable and very, very real.
What did you do specifically to nail it?
We had a dialect coach named Yash and he helped us a lot with our dialogues. Luckily, our shoot schedule began in Mathura and we ended up spending a lot of time there. I am a big observer and so I would observe the people there and eavesdrop on their conversations (laughs). I tried and picked up every small thing that I could.
I do like to observe people wherever I go and that helps me as an actor. In India, one needs to be a little careful because we are easily recognised and people don’t behave they would organically when they are around us. I tend to pick up more when I travel outside the country. When I am abroad, I try and do as many normal things as possible. I try to meet as many people as I can and listen to their stories and that becomes my greatest asset as an actor.
Had you watched Dream Girl when it came out in 2019 or even later?
Yes, I watched it when it was released and then I watched it again before the narration of Dream Girl 2. I did that because I wanted to understand Raaj sir’s (Shandilyaa, who has directed both the Dream Girl films) milieu as a director. I had a great time watching the film both times.
Also, I had so much fun during the narration of Dream Girl 2. I remember that I had to tell Raaj sir to slow down and give me some space to breathe because it was such a funny script and he’s also one of the funniest people I know. I am so glad that what I heard in the narration has translated so seamlessly into the film. In fact, I can safely say that it has actually got funnier and crazier. I hope people feel the same way when they watch the film.
Does walking into the second film of an already successful title ease the pressure on you or does it make you more anxious given that you are the new entrant?
It definitely was a lot of pressure but there was also the element of familiarity because I am quite sure that the members of the audience who loved the first film will come and watch the second one as well. That is a definite plus point that franchise films come with. The first film got a lot of love and honestly, I felt that I was entering an already-formed family.
I remember that I was quite nervous on the first day, but on that day itself there was an India-Pakistan cricket match and India won and we all bonded so much over that (smiles). We celebrated, we danced, we sang and that was an ice-breaker. They all welcomed me with open arms and everyone was so supportive. Overall, it was a very happy, joyful and fun set.
What were your biggest learnings from working with Ayushmann?
Ananya Panday
He is extremely secure and he always thinks of the film as a whole rather than just his character. He was also very aware of not crossing the line because comedy can sometimes blur the lines a little bit and end up hurting someone’s sentiments. He was extremely diligent when it came to that and didn’t end up making his character caricaturish.
You have done comedy before but the humour in the Dream Girl films is tonally unique. What was that experience like, especially in the company of bona fide comedy talents like Paresh Rawal, Annu Kapoor, Vijay Raaz, Rajpal Yadav and Asrani?
Yes, I have done comedy before in Pati Patni Aur Woh and like that film, even in Dream Girl 2, my character is not the one doing the comedy per se. The comedy happens all around Pari and she just reacts to it... she is mostly caught in a comedy of errors kind of situation.
But in the show that I am doing for Prime Video called Call Me Bae, I am actually doing a lot of the comedy there myself and I can honestly confess that comedy is one of the toughest genres to crack. Mostly on a comedy set, one has either written the jokes and the others have heard them so many times that nobody really laughs when they are enacted out. So it’s very tough for an actor to gauge whether the audience will eventually find it funny or not.
Are you a funny person by nature?
I think I am quite funny but I don’t know if everyone around me will agree with it! (Laughs) I do have the ability to make people laugh. Many of my jokes are self-deprecating. My dad (Chunky Panday) has always taught me that it’s always important to laugh at oneself first.
He’s always been very good at doing that....
My dad is the best! (Smiles)
Among all the characters that you have played so far, which has been the closest to who you are?
It would be Tia from Gehraiyaan. even though I haven’t dealt with the kind of emotions that she deals with in the film, playing her made me a lot more empathetic and far more open to understanding relationships and their limitations. I think I got to a very honest and real place while playing Tia.
Ananya with Ayushmann Khurrana in Dream Girl 2, releasing in theatres this Friday
Gehraiyaan also changed my approach towards acting and I miss playing Tia sometimes, you know. Also, my character from my upcoming film Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (co-starring Siddhant Chaturvedi and Adarsh Gourav) is so like me that I felt that my director Arjun (Varain Singh) had hidden a camera in my room because the character felt so, so relatable (smiles). Every young girl from our generation will feel like that is her story.
How do you manage to remain consistently positive in the face of so much criticism and trolling?
It is definitely something that I have to consciously work towards. There will always be good days and bad days. But what you can only control is your own emotions and how you react to these situations. One needs to grow a thick skin and take everything in one’s stride. But it is also okay to be human and get upset. At the end of the day, it’s about picking yourself up and realising that these bad feelings won’t last forever.
