Chunky Panday Reveals Ananya’s Discomfort With Liger Role: ‘She Was Too Young For It’
Three years after the failure of Liger (2022), actor Chunky Panday has revealed that his daughter, Ananya Panday, was uncomfortable taking on the role in the Vijay Deverakonda-starrer. The film, which marked Deverakonda’s Bollywood debut and Ananya’s first mainstream commercial project, struggled at the box office despite high expectations.
Ananya Felt ‘Too Young’ for Liger
In a recent interview with Mashable India, Chunky Panday shared that Ananya, who was 23 when she signed Liger, felt she was too young for the role. He recalled her initial hesitation, saying, “She asked me, ‘Papa, I am too young to do this. Should I take it up?’ I encouraged her, believing it was a big commercial film. But maybe she was right—she was too young for it.”
Ananya had previously acted in Student of the Year 2, Pati Patni Aur Woh, Khaali Peeli, and Gehraiyaan, but none were large-scale mass entertainers like Liger. Chunky admitted that she remained uncertain about the project even after signing it. “She was uncomfortable and confused,” he said, adding that she ultimately went ahead with the film despite her reservations.
Chunky Panday on Giving Career Advice
The actor also revealed that he has since refrained from advising Ananya on her career choices. He cited his initial reservations about her taking up the Amazon Prime Video series Call Me Bae, which later earned her a Filmfare Award nomination. “After that, I stopped putting pressure on her. Maybe I was wrong. I’m old school, and I don’t know much about today’s industry. If she had asked me about Bae, I would have said no,” he admitted.
Liger’s Box Office Failure
Directed by Puri Jagannadh, Liger was shot in both Hindi and Telugu and featured Vijay Deverakonda alongside Ananya Panday, Ramya Krishnan, and Ronit Roy, with a special appearance by boxing legend Mike Tyson. Despite its grand scale and a budget of ₹125 crore, the film managed to collect only ₹60 crore at the box office, making it a commercial disaster.
Ananya’s Upcoming Projects
Following Liger, Ananya found success with her Netflix film CTRL, which received widespread acclaim. She will next be seen in Kesari Chapter 2, starring alongside Akshay Kumar.
