Ananya Panday Recalls Being Bullied In School: "Used To Just Feel Very, Very Down"

One of the most successful actresses of Bollywood's new generation, Ananya Panday is riding high on the acclaim she received for her latest projects Call Me Bae and CTRL. But she did not have it all easy. During a recent interview, the actress recalled being bullied in school, which even led her to seek professional in terms of therapy. She revealed that she has been called everything from "hunchback to flat chested to chicken leg and hairy."

Looking back at her time in school, the actress said, "When I was in school, social media had just started. I was called all sorts of things, like hunchback, flat screen, chicken legs... That was in school, we were in our bubble. Now, because of social media, the smallest voice can be amplified. It did affect my self-confidence, it still does today. Self-love is a journey, not the destination."

On being asked the worst kind of trolling she received, Ananya mentioned it is not really possible to choose just one, given the difficult journey she's had, but she reiterated how people from her school made it difficult for her. "A lot has been said about me, so I can't really choose one moment. Sometimes, when I can't control a narrative that makes me upset, for instance, when I started out, in my first year (in films), someone made a fake account on Instagram, and they started writing they were in school with me and said I lied about my education and getting into college. First, I was like, 'No one is going to believe that'. But people did believe it. Somedays, I definitely don't want to be on social media," she recalled. 

The CTRL actress then shared that she was in therapy for a while because the negativity around her affected her.  "I have done therapy in the past, I am not as regular now. I could not articulate my emotions. I used to just feel very, very down. The thing, I sometimes feel with mental health and social media, is that you may read something in the moment and you may not realise that it is affecting you, because you think 'I am fine right now, I am having a good day, I am in the car, I am busy'. I will read a comment and I will ignore it. But weeks later, it could still be there in your subconscious somewhere and things that like really pile up," she explained. 

Ananya Panday started her Bollywood career with Student Of The Year 2 in 2019, and since then she has carved out her niche in the industry, choosing the right films and projects. She will be seen in the second season of Call Me Bae, as well as Dharma Productions' next film Chand Mera Dil which was recently announced.