Ananya Panday: ‘Would love to act in Madhubala or Rekha biopic’

Ananya Panday

You can't blame Ananya Panday for being greedy as an artiste. She has tasted blood with Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (2023), and now she wants more. The actor has a promising line-up that includes Vikramaditya Motwane's Control, Collin D'Cunha's Call Me Bae and the yet-untitled film with Akshay Kumar. But she is eyeing a new goal - headlining a biopic.

The actor recently watched The Crown, and Elizabeth Debicki's performance as Princess Diana seeded the desire. "I loved how she completely became the character and yet brought so much of herself to it. I would love to do a biopic, transforming myself into someone who already existed," shares Panday. She has a wishlist, though she admits to being unsure whether she can do them justice. "I would love to act in a biopic of Madhubala ji, Zeenat Aman ji, Waheeda [Rehman] ji or Rekha ji."

For now, Panday is being moulded as an actor by some fine directors. Having wrapped up Motwane's cyber thriller, she says, "Vikramaditya is a dream director. [While shooting], you don't realise what you are learning. But later, when you do something [in front of the camera], you realise you had learnt it from him. He wants everyone to grow with him." Being directed by D'Cunha on her maiden web series has been a fun ride. "I'd make Colin enact scenes and he'd bring his own funny twists."