Ananya Panday, who was brutally trolled for her "struggle" comment during an actors' roundtable conference a few years ago, during a recent episode of Koffee With Karan 8, opened up on how she dealt with trolls and more. Looking back at the incident, the actress said, "Honestly, I don't want to sound like I'm victimising myself, saying oh it's so tough for me. It's tough for everyone. It's not easy for anyone in this business no matter at what stage they're in their careers. All I have ever worked for is validation. I'm the daughter of a man who is a huge people pleaser. In every aspect of my life, I just wanted love from people."
Ananya added, "I do want people to think that I'm worthy of the opportunities I have got so far. I'm waiting for good work to come to me and I'm quite excited for the kind of work I'm doing." She added, "I felt that love, but sometimes I feel like I haven't yet gotten the respect from people, and that's something I am working towards and hoping for eventually because I do want to feel validated as a good actor, and I want people to think that I am worthy of the opportunities I have received."
"But I do feel that just because we have grown up in the industry, it's weird because there are moments of our lives that are just permanently present for people to watch and judge, even though we have changed so much from them. I have changed, and I'm hoping people see that and grow with me and see that change," Ananya said during the episode.
Here's a little background for those who require one. During an actors' roundtable conference a few years ago Ananya, daughter of actor Chunky Panday, who was launched by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, told Rajeev Masand that her dad Chunky Panday had neither been part of Karan Johar's show nor a Dharma film. She said, "I've always wanted to be an actor. This has been my dream as well and I feel like just because my dad is an actor, I'm not going to say no to an opportunity to act, you know. My dad has never been in a Dharma film, he never went on Koffee With Karan. So, you know it isn't as easy as everyone says it is. Everyone has their own journey."
Siddhant Chaturvedi replied to Ananya's comment. He said, "I think everybody has their own struggle. Sabka struggle alag hota hai. Difference yahi hai ki jahaan humare sapne poore hote hain, wahan inka struggle shuru hota hai (Everybody has their own struggle. The difference is where our dreams come true, their struggle begins)." The actors later co-starred in Gehraiyaan.