Ananya at Le Bal with Prince Philip d'Arenberg. (Image courtesy: Bhavan Panday)
Mumbai:
Actor Chunky Panday has revealed exactly what went down in Paris where his 19-year-old daughter Ananya made her high society debut at the Bal des Debutantes last Saturday. Le Bal, as the annual event is known, is a high profile fashion event where 20-odd young women from prominent families around the world make their social debuts wearing couture dresses. The Pandays were very surprised when they got the call about Le Bal, Chunky Panday told NDTV. Ananya was accompanied to Paris by her parents - dad Chunky and mom Bhavana - and her sister Rysa. Her cousin Ahaan was also in Paris at Le Bal, as the escort or 'cavalier' to Princess Alice of Belgium.
Ananya's cavalier, to whom she was introduced at a formal dinner in the Peninsula Hotel, was Prince Philip d'Arenberg. The first dance, however, went to each debutante's father. "Waltzing with Ananya was great fun," Chunky Panday told NDTV, adding that he often danced with both daughters when they were young.
Here are Ananya and Ahaan practicing the waltz before the main event - Ananya wears Abu-Sandeep's 'Firefly' dress:
"Ananya made me feel very proud," the 55-year-old actor said, describing Le Bal as a 'worldwide launch pad.' This, Chunky Panday joked, was "the closest feeling to royalty" as he would get.
"I think it's a very good experience, they got to truly experience a fairy tale evening," Ahaan's mother Deanne Panday told NDTV.
The Pandays in Paris:
Ananya Panday's Le Bal gown was a blue-black confection by Jean Paul Gaultier:
Ananya slipped into Monisha Jaising's silver chainmail mini for the after-party:
Ananya and Ahaan had company from home in the forms of Princess Gauravi of Jaipur, who was also making her debut at Le Bal, and her brother Padmanabh Singh, acting as cavalier to Ava Phillippe, daughter of Hollywood stars Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe.
Ananya's cavalier, to whom she was introduced at a formal dinner in the Peninsula Hotel, was Prince Philip d'Arenberg. The first dance, however, went to each debutante's father. "Waltzing with Ananya was great fun," Chunky Panday told NDTV, adding that he often danced with both daughters when they were young.
Here are Ananya and Ahaan practicing the waltz before the main event - Ananya wears Abu-Sandeep's 'Firefly' dress:
"Ananya made me feel very proud," the 55-year-old actor said, describing Le Bal as a 'worldwide launch pad.' This, Chunky Panday joked, was "the closest feeling to royalty" as he would get.
"I think it's a very good experience, they got to truly experience a fairy tale evening," Ahaan's mother Deanne Panday told NDTV.
The Pandays in Paris:
Ananya Panday's Le Bal gown was a blue-black confection by Jean Paul Gaultier:
Ananya slipped into Monisha Jaising's silver chainmail mini for the after-party:
Ananya and Ahaan had company from home in the forms of Princess Gauravi of Jaipur, who was also making her debut at Le Bal, and her brother Padmanabh Singh, acting as cavalier to Ava Phillippe, daughter of Hollywood stars Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe.
