Ananya Panday Reveals How She Wards Off Negativity Using Simple Household Items

Ananya Panday's film CTRL debuted on Netflix today (October 4). Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, the movie also stars Vihaan Samat in a key role. In a recent interview, Ananya revealed that she gets her “nazar” taken out every week to ward off negativity. “I take out my nazar every week. The help at my house does the mirchi thing. You know the Mirchi thing? So, if it smells a lot, it means you have nazar. If the mirchi burns a lot, you have nazar. I don't know the science behind it,” Ananya said in a video shared on Netflix India's YouTube channel. 

The actress also mentioned that her mother, Bhavana Panday, often puts “kaala teeka” behind her ear to shield her from the evil eye. She said, “My mom put two black dots behind my ear before I came here. Everyone thinks I don't shower or have something dirty behind my ear, but my mom keeps putting it again and again.”

Last month, Netflix dropped the trailer for CTRL. The story follows Ananya Panday's character Nella and her seemingly perfect life. She stumbles onto Control Your Life, an AI-based program. Her life changes after logging into the app. Nella's relationship with her boyfriend Joe (Vihaan Samat) comes to an end after he cheats on her but everyone blames her. In resentment, Nella says to CTRL, “I just want to erase my ex.” While Nella wants to take away her suffering, the app has different ideas. Soon after, Joe's presence in the real world starts fading along with his social media blueprint. After a phone conversation, Nella learns that Joe has gone missing. "But isn't that what you wanted?" an AI-generated character asks Nella in the last few seconds of the trailer.

Sharing her thoughts on playing Nella, Ananya Panday said in a statement, “My character Nella is like any of us. She's caught up in a world dominated by technology and social media. CTRL explores how we navigate the fine line between our online presence and who we are in real life. Working with Vikram sir and Nikhil sir has been an incredible journey, and I can't wait for you to watch it on Netflix and uncover the connection between Nella and Allen,” reported News18. 

CTRL is produced by Nikhil Dwivedi and Arya Menon under Saffron and Andolan Films.