What was Ananya Panday’s first reaction to the narration of Gehraiyaan? As she recently admitted, she hid in the bathroom for 20 minutes, shocked that Shakun Batra wanted her for the noir relationship drama. The film was in stark contrast to the light-hearted movies she has done so far. Walking in, she knew that playing Tia — whose fiancé, played by Siddhant Chaturvedi, cheats on her with her cousin — was not going to be easy. “I am only 23. So, it’s not fair to say that I have been through something like this,” begins the actor. “This is probably one of the most emotionally fleshed-out characters I have played. It was cathartic to play a role like this because I had to draw a lot from myself. I had to tap into my emotions, and [explore] them in depth. Once you go past the barrier where you wonder what people are thinking, and explore your most vulnerable side, only the best in you comes out.” 

Panday with Batra, Chaturvedi and Padukone