How Ananya Panday went from star kid to Gen Z's it girl

Ananya Panday has never been a celebrity that could be ignored. Now, even seven years after she first stepped into Bollywood with Student of the Year 2, she has morphed from a star kid into a celebrity that many Gen Z‑ers relate to—flawed, authentic, and aspirational. Besides just her acting career; Ananya has navigated privilege, criticism, and identity and turned them into a platform rather than a burden. From the start, her debut was met with the typical mix of praise and dismissal. She was recognised for her looks and pedigree but also questioned for experience. She has herself admitted that early on she felt “raw”, grappling with being placed “in a box defined by others’ perceptions” of her. Since then, she has chosen scripts and platforms that allow experimentation or showing shades of her personality. Her fashion and fitness routines are part performance and part narrative about balance, self‑care, and inner well‑being. As she said, “If you’re not okay on the inside … none of it matters.” 

Over time, however, she made conscious choices. In interviews, she emphasises privilege and also responsibility. She once told Times of India, “I know I’m privileged… but now I’ve got this opportunity, and I don’t want to waste it… if I can carry forward [my father’s] legacy and make him proud, it will be a very big achievement.” This willingness to admit her benefits and her insecurities resonates with young people, who see through polished facades and value openness over perfection.

Her visibility has also scaled impressively. In 2025, she became the first Indian global ambassador for Chanel. She has fronted fashion campaigns from Swarovski to Jimmy Choo, graced the front row in Paris, and made her style evolution public. Her social media presence; from her fashion posts to her unguarded moments of vulnerability, like speaking about being called “too skinny” or confronting body image criticism, have deepened her connection with Gen Z.

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Finally, her friendships with other young Bollywood celebrities like Suhana Khan, Shanaya Kapoor, and Navya Naveli Nanda, are visible without being contrived. She speaks of needing “alone time”, of mental health breaks, of boundaries. Such openness about her off‑camera self invites empathy and gives room for fans to believe she’s more than the characters she plays or the dresses she wears. 

In an era when Gen Z craves representation, authenticity, and someone who isn’t polished but real, Ananya Panday has become a kind of mirror. That fragile‑strong balance makes her not just a celebrity but an emblem of how a new generation sees itself.

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