Ananya Panday recently found herself facing heavy criticism on social media after a dance clip from her film Chand Mera Dil went viral online. In the scene, Ananya performs a fusion dance inspired by Bharatanatyam along with modern styles like hip hop and locking. While some viewers appreciated the experimental idea, many others criticised the performance and said it did not properly represent Bharatanatyam. Several trained Bharatanatyam dancers also shared negative reactions online, calling the performance disappointing.
Now, Ananya’s father and actor Chunky Panday has come forward to defend his daughter and explain the intention behind the dance sequence. Speaking in an interview with ETimes, Chunky said people misunderstood the entire concept of the performance. According to him, the dance was never meant to be a pure Bharatanatyam recital. Instead, it was designed as a fusion act similar to performances often seen at college cultural events.
Chunky explained that classical Bharatanatyam is an extremely difficult dance form that takes many years of training, discipline and practice to master. He said the film was not trying to show traditional Bharatanatyam in its pure form. Rather, the sequence was meant to mix traditional dance with futuristic and modern dance styles in a creative way. He requested audiences to first watch the film and understand the context before judging the performance.
In the film, Ananya plays Chandni, the daughter of a Bharatanatyam dancer played by Charu Shankar. Her character chooses to perform a modern fusion dance instead of a traditional Bharatanatyam routine, which becomes an important part of the scene. However, once the clip spread online, many viewers began comparing it to classical Bharatanatyam performances and criticised the choreography.
Well known dancer and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award winner Anita Ratnam also reacted strongly to the clip. She said Bharatanatyam is built on discipline, control, technique and emotional depth, and felt the performance failed to capture those qualities. Her comments quickly went viral and added more attention to the controversy.
Directed by Vivek Soni and produced by Dharma Productions, Chand Mera Dil is set in an engineering college and follows the emotional story of two young students dealing with love, responsibility and adulthood. Despite creating buzz online, the film has received mixed reviews and has earned just over ₹13 crore in its first five days at the box office.
Meanwhile, Chunky Panday is now preparing for the release of his upcoming film Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai directed by David Dhawan. The movie stars Varun Dhawan, Mrunal Thakur and Pooja Hegde in lead roles and is scheduled to release on June 4.