EXCLUSIVE: "What drew me to Gehraiyaan was actually how real and complex characters are" - says Ananya Panday

Earlier this week, the trailer of the much-awaited Shakun Batra directorial Gehraiyaan was unveiled via a virtual press conference in presence of Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, and Dhairya Karwa. The film will release on Valentine's Day weekend, February 11, 2022. The actors embark on a journey of finding themselves in the story of modern-day relationships.

EXCLUSIVE: "What actually drew me to Gehraiyaan was actually how real and complex characters are" - says Ananya Panday

At the trailer launch, Ananya Panday said that it had taken her 20 minutes to grasp the story of the film when the script was first read to her. Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, Panday said that she is blessed to be working with Shakun Batra. She said, "For me, it was a very big deal to be working with Shakun, as I've said before, he was a dream director for me. Along with Shakun for me, actually playing off the performances of the other actors was extremely helpful because I feel like acting comes down to a lot of reacting. So it really helped me to play off Deepika Padukone, Dhairya Karwa, and Siddhant Chaturvedi."

She further said, "What actually drew me to this film was actually how real and complex characters are. There was nothing like this one's a villain, the one's hero, this one's a heroine. Everyone had bits of grey in them. Everyone had a dark side, everyone had a light side, which makes it real because that's how humans are. Honestly, Shakun has helped me kind of find a process as an actor. I feel like before this in every film that I was doing, I just wanted to be an actor so badly that I was kind of just having fun and going with it and doing every single thing that my director would tell me, but Shakun actually helped me define and make a process as an actor for myself, which I feel like I'll carry on forward with every film that I do. So I really hope that people like me in the film."

Jointly produced by Dharma Productions & Viacom18 Studios in association with Shakun Batra’s Jouska Films, the movie is a relationship drama that dives into the depths of complex modern relationships, adulting, letting go, and taking control of ones' life path.