Ananya Panday Reacts To Viral Ad With Jackie Shroff: ‘Very Tough To Mimic Him’ | Exclusive – News18

Last Updated:December 12, 2024, 05:34 IST

Ananya Panday calls Jackie Shroff ‘cool’ and reveals that she referred to many pop culture videos and tried to talk like him for the viral Spotify ad.

During the promotions of Kho Gaye Hum Kahan last year, Ananya Panday had spoken about her admiration for Jackie Shroff and revealed how he had once sent her a text saying ‘bhidu’ and when she enquired him about it, he didn’t reply to her. Later, however, he told her that the intention behind the message was to convey that he’s there for her. So, it would be safe to say that Ananya is ending 2024 with a bang as she was recently seen in a quirky Spotify advertisement with the Singham Again and Baby John actor.

The now viral ad sees the duo imitating each other while engaging in a playful banter. While Ananya in true-blue Jackie style says, “Bhidu banna bohot easy hai, December mein thandi, bhindi mein chaukandi, kya bolta hai”, Jackie responds by saying, “I can touch my tongue to my nose.” It has left the internet in splits with many lauding Ananya for being a sport and matching shoulders with Jackie. Reacting to it, in an exclusive conversation with News18 Showsha, Ananya says, “It was so much fun! He’s an icon, he’s a legend.”

While she thoroughly enjoyed the process, she reveals that it was no cakewalk to play him. “I’ve worked with Tiger (Shroff) and I’ve done an ad with Kishu (Krishna Shroff), his sister. Working with Jackie sir is everyone’s dream. He’s so cool. He’s the same off-camera as he’s on-camera. His way of talking is so much fun. We did a lot of pop culture referencing and I watched his videos and talked like him. That shoot just went by. Having said that, it was very, very tough to mimic him. He played Ananya Panday better than me! All I can say is that it’s tough being bhidu,” Ananya tells us.

2024 also saw her headlining Call Me Bae and CTRL, both of which won her raving reviews. So, how would she define this year in a nutshell? “I think it was the most important year for me, career-wise. It’s also the year where I felt truly connected with the audience. I love how every time someone talks about Call Me Bae, a smile comes to their face. I’ve had people come up to me and doing the whole ‘behen code’ thing and telling me Bae’s affirmations,” says Ananya, who’ll next be seen in Chand Mera Dil.

For her, relevance is key and she’s elated to now be a part of meme fests and pop culture pages on social media. However, she hints that this is just a prelude and hopes that there are bigger things in the pipeline. “Doing something that becomes a part of the cultural phenomenon and a pop culture reference is something that I’ve always aimed for. I’m very happy that it happened with Call Me Bae. And with CTRL, people got to see a new side of the actor in me. So, I really feel that a lot has changed for me this year. And I hope that this is only the beginning,” states Ananya.